Di Martino, ElenaSatriano, Alessandro2013-09-252015-03-252013-09-252013Satriano, A. (2013). In-Silico and In-Vivo Functional Assessment of Cardiovascular Structures (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26551http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1039Understanding the current status and the progression of cardiovascular pathologies is paramount to assess therapeutic effectiveness and the course of action to be taken for a specific patient. The interplay between different physics and cardiovascular structures should not be neglected in a prediction-oriented simulation. Questions arise about the correct level of detail needed,and what interactions need to be reproduced to correctly quantify the physiological and pathological function of an organ. Within the present work we investigated two problems: 1) the adoption of numerical models to study the interaction between mechanical and electrical phenomena across the surface of the left atrium (LA) and their influence on atrial fibrillation; 2) the assessment of strain in-vivo from time-dependent diagnostic imaging in order to evaluate the organ functionality, applied to the case of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). Cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocyte) orientations contribute significantly to directional stiffness and electrical conductance in the LA. In the first part of the thesis we developed a feature-based algorithm for the application of inhomogeneous tissue properties such as cardiomyocytes directions, obtained through invasive and destructive investigative techniques, to the single patient case. Subsequently, using such cardiomyocyte directions we developed a strongly coupled Mechano-Electric model of the LA, taking into account its interaction with the surrounding structures (pericardium and left ventricle), the directional effect of cardiomyocytes both from an electrical and mechanical point of view, as well as the dependence of LA pressure on the transmitral flow, according to left ventricular pressure and current atrial compliance by means of a 0-D atrio-ventricular flow model.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.BiomedicalCardiovascularAortaAtriumImagingFinite Element MethodFeature-BasedMorphingOptical Flowdoctoral thesis10.11575/PRISM/26551