Computational Cardiac Dynamics
The group has strong expertise in computational cardiac dynamics. Our activities span several and interconnected research lines. We develop qualitative and quantitative models of cardiac tissue, from single myocytes to realistic geometries, investigating the nonlinear dynamics underlying physiological and pathological conditions. We also study the effects of thermal variations on cardiac electrophysiological dynamics, and model the nonlinear mechano-electric feedback (MEF) governing cardiac electro-mechanics, through active stress and active strain formulations that account for tissue inhomogeneity and anisotropy. We work on the computational fluid dynamics of aortic aneurysms, modeling fluid-structure interaction in both pathological and physiological geometries and introducing novel risk indicators. Finally, another line of research focuses on the magnetic signals generated by the propagation of action potentials in cardiac tissue, exploring their potential as arrhythmia signatures.
Selected publications:
· Magnetic field based investigation of Brugada syndrome. Nicoletti, M., Crispino, A., Loppini, A., Gizzi, A., Chiodo, L., Cherubini, C., & Filippi, S. European Biophysics Journal, 55(2), 187-197, (2026). doi: 10.1007/s00249-026-01826-7.
· Impact of electric spatially discordant alternans on cardiac magnetic field. Nicoletti, M., Crispino, A., Loppini, A., Gizzi, A., Chiodo, L., Cherubini, C., & Filippi, S. Physical Review E, 112(2), 024405 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ys62-2n7g
· Magnetic signature of thermoelectric cardiac dynamics. Crispino, A., Nicoletti, M., Loppini, A., Gizzi, A., Chiodo, L., Cherubini, C., & Filippi, S. Physical Review E, 111(1), L012401, (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.111.L012401
· A cross species thermoelectric and spatiotemporal analysis of alternans in live explanted hearts using dual voltage-calcium fluorescence optical mapping. Crispino, A., Loppini, A., Uzelac, I., Iravanian, S., Bhatia, N. K., Burke, M., … & Gizzi, A. Physiological measurement, 45(6), 065001, (2024). DOI 10.1088/1361-6579/ad4e8f
· Spatiotemporal correlation uncovers characteristic lengths in cardiac tissue. Loppini, A., Gizzi, A., Cherubini, C., Cherry, E. M., Fenton, F. H., & Filippi, S. Physical Review E, 100(2), 020201, (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.100.020201
· Multi-band decomposition analysis: application to cardiac alternans as a function of temperature. Gizzi, A., Loppini, A., Cherry, E. M., Cherubini, C., Fenton, F. H., & Filippi, S. Physiological measurement, 38(5), 833-847, (2017). DOI 10.1088/1361-6579/aa64af
· Three-band decomposition analysis in multiscale FSI models of abdominal aortic aneurysms Nestola, M. G., Gizzi, A., Cherubini, C., & Filippi, S. International Journal of Modern Physics C, 27(02), 1650017 (2016). Doi: 10.1142/S0129183116500170
· Wave-train-induced termination of weakly anchored vortices in excitable media. Pumir, A., Sinha, S., Sridhar, S., Argentina, M., Hörning, M., Filippi, S., … & Krinsky, V. Physical Review E—Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics, 81(1), 010901, (2010). Doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.81.010901
· An electromechanical model of cardiac tissue: constitutive issues and electrophysiological effects. Cherubini, C., Filippi, S., Nardinocchi, P., & Teresi, L. Progress in biophysics and molecular biology, 97(2-3), 562-573, (2008). DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2008.02.001
· Mathematical modelling of active contraction in isolated cardiomyocytes. Ruiz-Baier, R., Gizzi, A., Rossi, S., Cherubini, C., Laadhari, A., Filippi, S., & Quarteroni, A. Mathematical Medicine and Biology: a Journal of the IMA, 31(3), 259-283,(2014). DOI: 10.1093/imammb/dqt009
Collaborators: N. Fabbri, L. Sacconi, Flavio Fenton, Dmitry Budker, Alessio Gizzi , Anna Crispino, Remo Ruffini, J.H. Rueda.
People
Simonetta Filippi, Christian Cherubini, Letizia Chiodo, Alessandro Loppini, Martina Nicoletti
Projects