​Alison Marsden: Computer models could transform cardiovascular surgery

Imagine being born with just half a heart. 

Alison Marsden does, pretty much every day. She is an associate professor of pediatrics specializing in cardiology and also of bioengineering. She works with children born with such dire defects.

Fortunately for those kids, Marsden is also an expert in computational modeling of cardiovascular system and developer of SimVascular, software that helps surgeons simulate surgeries on the computer without risk to living patients. The software provides researchers and surgeons a way to propose novel surgical procedures and then simulate the resulting blood flow patterns in order to better understand the potential for a successful outcome.

Join host Russ Altman and Alison Marsden for an exploration of the many ways computer simulations are making heart surgery more effective and more personal than ever before.

Related | Alison Marsden, associate professor of pediatrics (cardiology), and of bioengineering and, by courtesy, of mechanical engineering.

Related | Russ Altman, the Kenneth Fong professor and professor of bioengineering, of genetics, of medicine (general medical discipline), of biomedical data science and, by courtesy, of computer science.