Cardiovascular Bioengineering
Cardiovascular Bioengineering is investigating heart disease based in the Department of Bioengineering within the Faculty of Engineering. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death globally. In 2008 17.3 million people died from CVDs and by 2030 it is estimated that this will increase to 23.3 million. Wave intensity analysis (WIA) is a method for characterising pressure and flow waves in arteries. It is used to assess whether patients need interventions to reduce narrowing of their coronary arteries. Conventional diagnoses required the use of a drug that was costly, time-consuming to administer and had unpleasant side-effects.
Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering
The Imperial Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Network (ISRMN) was launched in 2014 to bring together Imperial scientists working in these fields and encourage new, exciting interdisciplinary collaborations. As our members work in different Departments, Faculties and even campuses, our meetings have become a great opportunity to get an update in the research we all perform in different locations within Imperial College London, but also to increase networking among us. ISRMN aims to facilitate networking, but also increase its members visibility both within Imperial and externally.
ElectroCardioMaths
The ElectroCardioMaths programme is a multidisciplinary initiative bringing together research leaders from clinical electrophysiology, biological sciences and physical sciences to address key challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias. Complex arrhythmias include both the most common heart rhythm disturbance, atrial fibrillation (AF), which is increasingly prevalent with age – affecting 10% of the over sixties and the most important cause of stroke worldwide – and the heart rhythm disturbance responsible for half of all cardiac deaths.
Cardiovascular Flow Group
The Cardiovascular Flow Group sits with the BioFlow Group based within the Department of Aeronautics. The group develops mathematical models, and computational and experimental techniques to study fluid dynamics in biology and medicine to provide new procedures for healthcare applications such as disease modelling, diagnosis and the engineering of novel biomedical devices and for energy and environmental applications such as algal fuel harvesting and bioremediation.
Cardiovascular Imaging
Research into imaging is being undrtaken by the Institute of Clinical Science within the Faculty of Medicine. Clinical imaging plays an essential role in understanding the structure and function of complex systems in the body – both in health and disease. The MRC Mansfield Centre for Innovation is located at the Hammersmith Campus and brings together scientists and clinicians working on novel approaches to imaging and computational modelling. The Mansfield's MRI facility is equipped with state-of-the-art Siemens scanners enabling advanced human imaging in cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, oncology and metabolic medicine.