In Silico Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Human Cardiac Motion

Cardiac diseases are the number one reasons for death in the western world. Computational simulations provide the opportunity to conduct experiments and predictions that are not possible in humans due to ethical and other reasons. High performance computation allows the use of demanding coupled computational models of high complexity and a high level of detail, complying with a wide range of experimental data from the human heart. In this thesis, different aspects of computational heart modeling are covered: models describing passive tissue behavior, active contractile behavior, circulatory system modeling, influences of the pericardium and surrounding tissue on the heart as well as methods to obtain suitable parameters for these models. For each aspect, several modeling approaches are presented and compared. Finally, a scalability evaluation of the highly-parallelized implementation and an evaluation of the proper choice of mesh resolution for credible numerical results are covered. Concludingly, this thesis allows the reader to gain insights into the complexity of computational heart modeling and to make an appropriate choice of models and parameters suitable for specific applications.