Computational Cardiac Modeling:
Electromechanics + Fluid Dynamics

This project aims to develop a computational model of the left atrium that combines the three major ingredients of cardiac function: electrical activation, mechanical contraction, and blood flow. The long-term goal is to build a simplified but physiologically meaningful multi-physics framework that captures the essential dynamics of the cardiac pump.

The project was initiated during a sabbatical research stay at UCLouvain and is currently one of the main research directions in our group.

Why this problem matters

The heart is a strongly coupled multi-physics and multi-scale system. Electrical waves trigger contraction, contraction deforms the cardiac wall, and this deformation drives the blood flow inside the chamber. Most computational models focus on only one or two of these aspects. Here, we aim to integrate all three in a single computational setting.

A particular motivation is the left atrium, since atrial fibrillation is one of the most common cardiac pathologies and is often associated with abnormal electrical activity originating in this chamber.

Scientific aim

Our current objective is a “simple-full model” of the left atrium: simplify the geometry, while keeping the full coupled dynamics.

• Electrical activation propagates in the atrial wall and triggers contraction.
• The deformable wall interacts with the blood as a moving fluid boundary.
• The atrium receives blood from the four pulmonary veins.
• Blood exits through the mitral valve toward the left ventricle.

Model ingredients

• Electrophysiology: reaction-diffusion equations for cardiac activation wave propagation.
• Solid mechanics: nonlinear tissue mechanics with active contraction.
• Fluid dynamics: incompressible Newtonian flow inside the atrial cavity.
• Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI): consistency of velocity and forces at the moving interface.
• Numerical methods: finite elements, weak formulations, sparse matrix solvers, and coupled time integration.

At the present stage, the fluid subproblem is solved with MIGFLOW, and the coupled system is handled with a partitioned strongly coupled FSI scheme with sub-iterations.

Current status

We have built a first 2D model of the left atrial cavity that includes:

• mechanics of the deformable atrial wall,
• fluid dynamics inside the chamber,
• active tension associated with electrical activation,
• and coupling to a 0D circulation model for realistic boundary conditions.

This first model already shows a reasonable quantitative agreement with the corresponding 0D model in terms of pressure-volume behavior. The most delicate parts so far have been the FSI coupling and the boundary conditions at inlet and outlet.

More realistic geometries, better constitutive laws, and stronger links with physiological and clinical data are natural next steps.

Schematic view of the model

The objective is to model cardiac dynamics using a simplified geometry while retaining the essential electrophysiological, mechanical, and fluid components of the heart.

Human left atrium

Coupled electromechanical-fluid model

Research opportunities

This project is open to PhD and Master thesis students interested in:

• scientific computing,
• finite element methods,
• continuum mechanics,
• fluid mechanics and FSI,
• cardiac electrophysiology,
• multi-physics modeling.

We are particularly interested in candidates with a strong background in applied mathematics, physics, biomechanics, biomedical engineering, or computational mechanics.

Interested in this project? Contact me by email for PhD or Master´s thesis opportunities.

Downloads and related material

• PhD flyer (PDF)
• CASEIB poster (PDF)
• CMBBE presentation slides (PPTX)

A short research overview page and selected media (including figures and videos) will be added progressively.

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