A cycle of seminars on digital twins of the cardiovascular system organized by Spoke 9
A young researcher from SISSA has involved three mathematicians from European universities
Trieste, 5th May 2025
The mini-symposium Towards Real-Time Simulations for Cardiovascular Digital Twins was held at SISSA during the last week of April. It was organized by Pasquale Claudio Africa, a mathematician affiliated with iNEST Spoke 9 and recipient of a Young Researcher Grant—the funding program provided by the Consortium to support early-career researchers.
The mini-symposium focused on cardiovascular digital twins—virtual replicas for real-time simulation of the heart and circulatory system. By leveraging advanced mathematical modeling tools such as model order reduction and neural networks, these technologies pave the way for new approaches to studying heart and blood diseases, as well as designing personalized treatments tailored to individual patients.
Three researchers from European universities were invited to speak at the event. Elena Zappon (Medical University of Graz) presented a workflow for developing cardiac digital twins based on clinical imaging and electrocardiogram data. Ivan Prusak (Ruhr-University Bochum) introduced a specific class of reduced order models designed to simulate fluids that deform the structures they flow through, such as blood moving through arteries and heart valves. Finally, Richard Schussnig (Ruhr-University Bochum) showcased computational methods for simulating the cardiovascular system.