In the Spotlight: Cardiovascular Engineering

Abstract

This article reviews the development of patient-specific image-based models of the heart and the circulatory system. The goal of these types of models is to provide better assessment of cardiovascular function under the patient-specific pathophysiological conditions and to serve as a testbed for improved cardiovascular therapies that are tailored to the patient. These new models constitute a part of the growing trend towards the development of new computational approaches (i.e., computational medicine) that can aid treatment and prevention of human disease.