When the Engine of our Body Falls Ill

Karin Ellermann and Gerhard A. Holzapfel are jointly managing the lead project. Image source: Lunghammer - TU Graz - The heart lies at the centre of our body. It keeps us alive with its beats and is also known as our "engine". At TU Graz, our most important muscle is being researched using methods from biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer science and mathematics. The aorta, the main artery, is responsible for transporting our blood from the heart to the furthest corners of our body. And it can become seriously ill. Gerhard A. Holzapfel, head of the Institute of Biomechanics at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), has focused much of his research on atherosclerosis.