With clinical questions regarding (congenital) heart diseases in mind, research in the CardioVascular Systems Dynamics Research Group (CVSDRG) is performed in close collaboration with the Dept. of Physiology. Research focuses on the following subjects: asynchronous electrical activation, aortic stenosis, vascular and myocardial structure-function relation, myocardial adaptation, and computer model assisted diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension and congenital heart diseases. Besides standard expertise, the CMRG uses the following techniques / models in which it has expertise of extraordinary quality according to international standards:
As a spinn-off, we also develop an educational application of the CircAdapt model of heart and circulation that has been developed as a scientific research tool. To transfer this model to a user-friendly educational tool, an approach is chosen allowing stepwise definition of educational cases (e.g., exercise, hypovolemic shock, and cardiogenic shock) in teacher mode. In student mode, interactive simulation is possible by changing model parameters defined in teacher mode. Our approach is not only suitable for cardiology, but can also be used in other disciplines in medicine. By consistent use of the same graphical user interface throughout the curriculum, it is expected that students familiarize themselves with computer simulations.