Modeling of Physiological Flows (Hardcover, 2011)

Cardiovascular diseases have a major impact in Western countries. Mathematical models and numerical simulations can help the understanding of physiological and pathological processes, complementing the information provided to medical doctors by medical imaging and other non-invasive means, and opening the possibility of a better diagnosis and more in-depth surgical planning. This book offers a mathematical update of the state of the art of the research in the field, and serves as a useful reference for the development of mathematical models and numerical simulation codes. It is structured into different chapters, written by outstanding experts in the field. Many fundamental issues are considered, such as: the mathematical representation of vascular geometries extracted from medical images, modelling blood rheology and the complex multilayer structure of the vascular tissue, and its possible pathologies, the mechanical and chemical interaction between blood and vascular walls; the different scales coupling local and systemic dynamics. All of these topics introduce challenging mathematical and numerical problems, demanding for advanced analysis and efficient simulation techniques. This book is addressed to graduate students and researchers in the field of bioengineering, applied mathematics and medicine, wishing to engage themselves in the fascinating task of modeling the cardiovascular system or, more broadly, physiological flows