Modeling and simulation of pharmaco-mechanical fluid-structure interaction for an enhanced treatment of cardiovascular diseases

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Daniel Balzani; Professor Dr. Axel Klawonn; Professor Dr. Oliver Rheinbach
• Subject Area: Mechanics ; Mathematics
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465228106

In this project, we aim at the robust computational modeling of coupling fluid-structure interaction with pharmacological effects towards an enhanced treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In the future, this could lead to a virtual laboratory to assist medical doctors and patients in their decisions. An example, where this can be applied, are atherosclerotic arteries; here, plaque rupture may lead to a heart attack or a stroke. Another important example is the aortic dilation resulting from a weakening of connective tissues in patients with Marfan syndrome, where rupture results in fatal internal bleeding. The main goal is to develop a robust numerical framework including suitable models for the computational simulation, using high-performance computing, of the effects of drugs on the complex biochemo-mechanical processes in arterial walls. The overall goals are summarized as follows:I. To construct suitable models for the complex pharmaco-mechanical processes associated with drug-induced modifications of smooth muscle activation and remodeling of tissue composition.II. To develop robust numerical coupling schemes and solver strategies to provide a framework for the predictive simulation of resulting fluid-structure-chemistry interaction problems.III. To analyze the developed methods by investigating suitable benchmark problems, comparing simulation results with measurement data obtained from our clinical collaboration partners.Together, the PIs provide expertises which overlap at the interface of mechanical modeling and numerical methods required by the challenges of this project. In the spirit of the Priority Programme SPP 2311, by also including the expertise of clinical collaboration partners, this project bridges the disciplines of mechanics, mathematics, and medicine. The resulting computational and modeling strategies of this project will be directly applicable to various other medical problems related to a pharmaco-mechanical interaction.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2311: Robust coupling of continuum-biomechanical in silico models to establish active biological system models for later use in clinical applications - Co-design of modeling, numerics and usability
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Alexander Heinlein