Virtual pathological heart of the virtual physiological human

Heart failure accounts for almost a quarter of all admissions to hospital for cardiovascular events, has a high mortality (median survival around 18 months), and places a great burden on all healthcare systems, with estimated direct costs of £905m (Є1350m) in the United Kingdom in 2000, 2% of total NHS expenditure.

VPH2 aims to develop a patient-specific computational modelling and simulation of the human heart to assist the cardiologist and the cardiac surgeon in defining the severity and extent of disease in patients with post-ischemic Left Ventricular Dysfunction (LVD), with or without ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR). Specific computational methods will allow clinical decision making and planning of the optimal treatment for left ventricle-valve repair. The goal is not only to deploy a fully validated technology to partner clinical institutions, but also to develop a sustainable business model associated to it.

The associated technological aim of the project is to deliver the most advanced software application framework for the development of computer-aided medicine in cardiology and cardiac surgery available in the world, going beyond the state of the art of available models.

This goal will be achieved by integrating some of the leading Open Source software in the area of computer-aided medicine and of computational bioengineering. This framework will be used by VPH2 to realise its objectives, but also by any other future project (academic or industrial) aiming to improve or extend VPH2 objectives.