Life for the millions of Americans who suffer from atherosclerosis is one of
uncertainty and fear. A fatty blockage of the arteries gradually obstructs blood flow and
ultimately causes the heart to stop beating. Their only warning may be a short-lived but
blinding pain that feels as if someone is tightening a belt around their chest. Seemingly
defying medicines and surgical procedures, atherosclerosis remains one of the leading
causes of heart attacks in the U.S. and around the world.
However, a new set of computer codes for modeling blood and other complex fluid
flows may lead to changes in accepted surgical practices that will dramatically
extend the life expectancy of those suffering from arterial diseases like atherosclerosis.
These codes can faithfully produce animated simulations of flows that once could only be
captured accurately in "still" formats like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The researcher behind this dynamic technology is George Karniadakis, a professor of
applied mathematics at Brown University. The codes he is developing with his students at
the university's Center for Fluid Dynamics and
simulating at NCSA will
allow scientists to more accurately model all types of fluid flows. Moreover the codes,
collectively known as NekTar, allow scientists to
zero in on specific areas of a calculation while the computation is running. Developing new
applications of this kind of computational steering is a major emphasis of the
Alliance.
