Theoretical Physics for Cardiovascular Surgery

Physicist Sascha Ranftl wants to use computer simulations and machine learning to clarify in advance whether open heart surgery is necessary. In this essay he explains why and how exactly he does this. Ms Z (56) is admitted to hospital with severe chest pains, shortness of breath and a frightening feeling of impending doom. What initially looks like a heart attack actually has a completely different cause: a type B aortic dissection (detachment of the wall layers of the aorta), which means that the descending aorta is affected. The aorta is the largest artery in the human body. It channels the blood directly from the left ventricle into the bloodstream. If something is not right here, the highest alarm level rules.