Following the evolving technologies on computer sciences, mathematical modelling and hardware performances, the study bio-fluids can today count also on the use of a virtual environment to perform hypothesis testing, product development, protocol design and methods validation that just a couple of decades ago would have not been thinkable. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) appear now a valid partner to in vitro modelling and a possible substitute to animal modelling furnishing a privileged environment for cheap fast and reproducible data acquiring.
Since 2003 CILEA has been actively involved in hemodynamic studies with the Politecnico di Milano,  the Università degli Studi Bergamo, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Università Politecnica delle Marche and with the Politecnico di Torino (see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]) exploiting the automation and the applicability to High Performance Computing of new methods in bio-fluids. The last work, by Umberto Morbiducci and co-authors [6], resulting from this collaboration and entitled "In Vivo Quantification of Helical Blood Flow in Human Aorta by Time-Resolved Three-Dimensional Cine Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging" has been honoured of been chosen as the cover figure for the March 2009 issue of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering [7].

References

• [1] Nobili M, Morbiducci U, Ponzini R, Del Gaudio C, Balducci A, Grigioni M, Maria Montevecchi F, Redaelli A. Numerical simulation of the dynamics of a bileaflet prosthetic heart valve using a fluid-structure interaction approach. J Biomech. 2008 Aug 7;41(11):2539-50.
• [2] Ponzini R, Lemma M, Morbiducci U, Montevecchi FM, Redaelli A. Doppler derived quantitative flow estimate in coronary artery bypass graft: a computational multiscale model for the evaluation of the current clinical procedure. Med Eng Phys. 2008 Sep;30(7):809-16.
• [3] Morbiducci U, Lemma M, Ponzini R, Boi A, Bondavalli L, Antona C, Montevecchi FM, Redaelli A. Does the Ventrica magnetic vascular positioner (MVP) for coronary artery bypass grafting significantly alter local fluid dynamics? A numeric study. Int J Artif Organs. 2007 Jul;30(7):628-39.
• [4] Ponzini R, Vergara C, Redaelli A, Veneziani A. Reliable CFD-based estimation of flow rate in haemodynamics measures. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2006 Oct;32(10):1545-55.
• [5] Morbiducci U, Ponzini R, Grigioni M, Redaelli A. Helical flow as fluid dynamic signature for atherogenesis risk in aortocoronary bypass. A numeric study. J Biomech. 2007;40(3):519-34
• [6] Morbiducci U, Ponzini R, Rizzo G, Cadioli M, Esposito A, De Cobelli F, Del Maschio A, Montevecchi FM, Redaelli A. In Vivo Quantification of Helical Blood Flow in Human Aorta by Time-Resolved Three-Dimensional Cine Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Ann Biomed Eng. 2008 Dec 6.
• [7] Annals of Biomedical Engineering.  home site