An ECI Conference Series
August 30-September 4, 2015
Albufeira, Portugal
Mark Your Calendar! Call for Abstracts!
Deadline for abstracts for oral presentations: February 28, 2015
Deadline for abstracts for poster presentations: March 15, 2015
Please forward this link to colleagues who may be interested in the conference topic.
Co-Sponsor: Israeli Society of Medical and Biological Engineering (ISMBE)
About This Conference
Conference Overview
After the immense success of the first conference chaired by Prof. David Elad (Tel Aviv University) in 2012, the 2nd International Conference on CFD in Medicine & Biology will take place in Algarve, Portugal (29.08.-04.09.2015).
With ongoing advances in both software and hardware development, including the huge increase in computers speed and memory, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are playing an increasing role in simulating complex transport phenomena in medicine and biology. As a result, medical, bioengineering and pharmaceutical research, both academic and industrial have been utilizing the advantages of CFD tools to plan sophisticated and specialized multi-physics models. The benefits of these numerical approaches have allowed to gain deeper insight into many physical and biological phenomena and provided an excellent tool for predicting performance of devices during the design phase. In many applications, the virtual capacity of CFD is replacing experimental work in the lab with the ability to control and isolate governing parameters. In practice, the CFD tools compress the design and development cycle required for prototyping and testing new devices.
Recent developments in CFD capabilities and applications require fast and effective dissemination within the community. In this 2nd conference, we will cover all aspects of fundamental and advanced state-of-the-art developments and applications of CFD tools in medicine, bio-engineering and biology, from cellular to organ level and from physiology to the design and development of medical devices. The conference will gather investigators and scientists both from academia and industry and underline how both medicine and biology are now progressively entering the in silico modeling area.
Session Topics
Aneurysms
Session Chair: David Steinman (University of Toronto)
Synopsis: This session will highlight the state of the art in CFD modelling of cerebral and aortic aneurysms. Particular attention will be paid to clinical applications, and especially the tension between best-practice CFD and the realities of the clinic.
Atherosclerosis
Session Chair: Frank Gijsen (Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands)
Synopsis: The session will focus on image-based computational fluid dynamics and atherosclerosis. The impact of shear stress on atherosclerotic plaque localization and progression in animal and human studies will be highlighted. Special attention will be given to (large) patient studies on shear stress and advanced plaques, on shear stress and atherosclerosis in animal models and on the influence of uncertainty of in vivo imaging on the prediction made with CFD.
Cardiovascular Devices and Interventions
Session Chair: Alison Marsden (University of California, San Diego)
Synopsis: This session will discuss computational model of cardiovascular devices including stents, coils, ventricular assist devices and catheterization. We will also discuss intra-ventricular flow and the relationship between ventricular fluid dynamics and disease progression.
Pulmonary Flows & Biomechanics
Session Chair: Josué Sznitman (Technion)
Synopsis: This session will cover state-of-the-art applications of CFD to respiratory fluid dynamics and related pulmonary physiology, covering the transport and deposition of inhaled particles, transport dynamics of propagating liquid plugs inside small airways whether for therapeutics (e.g., artificial surfactant replacement therapy) or as a result of diseased conditions (e.g., mucus), the dynamics of thin liquid film characteristic of the airway liquid lining layer, as well as respiratory flows in collapsible airways. The session will highlight the underlining role of modern CFD techniques for improving our understanding respiratory physiology and developing novel therapeutic strategies.
Biofluids of Reproduction
Session Chairs: Lisa Fauci (Tulane University); Megan Leftwich (George Washington University)
Synopsis: Complex fluid-structure interactions are central to the reproductive process. Fertilization relies on the motility of sperm and, in mammals, muscular contractions of the uterus. Ciliary motion drives ovum transport in the fallopian tubes. Embryo development is based upon an intricate balance of forces and biochemical signals in a fluid environment, as is the process of human birth. This session will provide a forum to discuss successes and challenges in computational modeling of the biofluid dynamics of reproduction.
FSI & Multiphysics Modeling in Biological Flows
Session Chair: Rajat Mittal (Johns Hopkins University)
Synopsis: In many biological configurations, interactions between flow and other physical domains is a rule rather than an exception. Examples include flow-induced deformation of soft structures such as wing, fins and valves, coupling with electrophysiology, interaction with biochemistry, flow-induced sound and interaction between flow and neurosensing. Computational modeling of these multiphysical interactions introduces some unique challenges and this session will include presentations that address this topic.
Beyond CFD: Multiscale Modeling of Cardiovascular Disease Processes
Session Chair: Alison Marsden (University of California, San Diego)
Synopsis: This session will discuss recent developments to extend CFD models to incorporate biological response, including growth and remodeling and thrombosis via multi scale modeling. Recent developments in numerics for multi scale modeling and uncertainty quantification will also be discussed.
MICROFLUIDIC APPLICATIONS IN CELL MECHANICS AND MECHANOBIOLOGY
Session Chair: CT Lim (National University Singapore)
Synopsis: Mechanobiology is a highly interdisciplinary research area that is gaining increasing attention in the last few years. Cells are known to undergo dynamic changes in their cytoskeleton when responding to mechanical cues, their microenvironment or certain human diseases. These will eventually lead to changes in their biomechanical properties such as size and shape, deformability and adhesion. Microfluidics has emerged as an enabling technology to examine such phenomena due to its numerous advantages such as small length scale, reduced sample and reagent volumes needed and low cost. This session will highlight recent efforts in the design and use of microfluidics to conduct studies in cell and biomolecular mechanobiology, cell separation using physical signatures (size, deformability and density), detection and diagnosis of human diseases and pathogens, and study of shear flow on cellular behaviour among others.
Interstitial Flows
Session Chair: Francis Loth (University of Akron)
Synopsis: TBD
Macro- and Microorganism Locomotion
Session Chair: Takuji Ishikawa (Tohoku University, Japan)
Synopsis: In this topic session, we will bring together researchers in computational studies with a specific focus on, but not limited to, biological locomotion. Topics include computational methods, models and analysis for cellular locomotion, collective motions of cells and animals, swimming of microorganisms and fish, flying insects and birds. Our goal is to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas that will lead to the development of more realistic physical, mechanical and biological models, and their future applications in computational mechanics.
Short Panel Sessions: “From Bench to Bedside: CFD, FDA, Industry, and the Clinic”
Session Chair: TBD
Synopsis: Many studies have proved the principle that CFD analysis could benefit medical device design and clinical decision-making. This moderated panel will bring together experts who will discuss what is required to navigate FDA regulatory processes; how best to coordinate with industrial partners, whether vendors or users of CFD; and what it takes for clinicians to put their trust in CFD.
Keynote Speakers
Prof. George Karniadakis, Department of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence RI 02192, USA
George_Karniadakis@Brown.edu
Title: “Multiscale modeling of sickle cell anemia and thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections“
Prof. Takami Yamaguchi, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi Japan
takami@pfsl.mech.tohoku.ac.jp
Title: “Integrated Computational Biomechanics of Flow Phenomena in the Living Body”
Prof. Yiannis Ventikos, Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
y.ventikos@ucl.ac.uk
Title: “Brain Transport Phenomena, the Glymphatic System and multicompartmental Poroelasticity”
Conference Organization
Conference Chair
Prof. Josué Sznitman
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Email: sznitman@bm.technion.ac.il; Tel. +972-4-829-5678
Conference Co-Chairs
Prof. Frank Gijsen
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Erasmus University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Email: f.gijsen@erasmusmc.nl; Tel.: +31-10-704-4045
Prof. Takuji Ishikawa
Department of Bioengineering & Robotics
Tohoku University, Japan
Email: ishikawa@pfsl.mech.tohoku.ac.jp; Tel: +81-22-795-4009
Prof. C.-T. Lim
Department of Biomedical Engineering
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Email: ctlim@nus.edu.sg; Tel. +65-6516-7801
Prof. Alison Marsden
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of California San Diego, USA
Email: amarsden@ucsd.edu; Tel. +1-858-822-3744
Prof. Rajat Mittal
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
Email: mittal@jhu.edu; Tel. +1 410 516 4069
Prof. David Steinman
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
University of Toronto, Canada
Email: steinman@mie.utoronto.ca; Tel. +1-416-978-7781
International Scientific Committee
Chris Bertram, University of Sydney, Australia
Danny Bluestein, Stony Brook University, USA
Dennis Doorly, Imperial College London, UK
David Elad, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Jeff Eldredge, UCLA, USA
Shmuel Einav, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Jonathan Freund, University of Illinois-UC, USA
Mory Gharib, CalTech, USA
Don Giddens, GeorgiaTech, USA
Jim Grotberg, University of Michigan, USA
Yunlong Huo, Peking University, China
Roger Kamm, MIT, USA
Stavros Kossinos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
Haoxiang Luo, Vanderbilt, USA
Dominik Obrist, University of Bern, Switzerland
Shawn Shadden, UC Berkeley, USA
Robert Schroter, Imperial College London, UK
Maria Siebes, AMC Amsterdam, NL
Jos Spaan, University of Amsterdam, NL
Fotis Sotiropoulos, University of Minnesota, USA
Pascal Verdonck, University of Ghent, Belgium
Frans van de Voose, University of Eindhoven, NL
Ajit Yogonathan, GeorgiaTech, USA
Xudong Zheng, University of Maine, USA
Major Sponsors
To visit the website, click on the logo.
Abstracts Submission
Deadline for abstracts for oral presentations: February 28, 2015
Deadline for abstracts for poster presentations: March 15, 2015
One-page abstracts should be submitted as soon as possible and no later than the deadlines noted above. The abstract should include both the significance of the research as well as results that will be discussed in order to allow a scientific assessment of the work by the organizers.
When you submit your abstract, please indicate the session for which you are submitting your abstract.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically at https://ssl.linklings.net/conferences/cfd
The abstract template available at the above link must be followed for an abstract to be considered for presentation.
Only a limited number of oral presentation slots are available. Thus all submissions for oral sessions will be considered for both oral and poster presentation.
There will be poster awards for Best Young Investigator and Best Overall Poster.
Post-Conference Publication
A Special Issue following the conference will be published in the Journal of Biomechanics (tentatively January 2016)
Conference Venue
Situated in the extreme south of Portugal, the Algarve was the final piece of territory to be conquered from the Moors by the Portuguese King 
D. Dinis in 1292. Traces of Moorish presence are still seen in its architecture – terraces, chimneys and whitewashed houses. The name Albufeira has its etymological root in the Arabic, a result from the maritime trade relations with North Africa. Al-Buhera means “Sea Castle,” which may reflect the existence of a fort in the region. The great 1755 Lisbon earthquake destroyed the town of Albufeira, destroying activity which was only resumed in the mid 19th century. For years the export of fish and several nuts were the main economic sources of the region. Tourist activity arose in the 1960s.
The Algarve, known for its idyllic beaches and ideal temperatures, is just three hours from Lisbon by motorway. In the northern part of the Algarve, the hills of Espinhaço, Cão, Monchique and Serra do Caldeirão shelter the coast from strong winds. This 
brightly colored region, with its fig trees, orange groves and almond trees in blossom complement the rich green vegetation and fertile land so characteristic of the whole of the northern Algarve. In strong contrast with the north, the southern Algarve is a coastal zone with long stretches of sandy beach, separated by extraordinary rugged cliffs and fantastic grottoes.
The town of Albufeira is a cosmopolitan town rich in historical and cultural sites. Notable attractions include the 19th Century Clock Tower (a symbol of the city), and the charming 18th Century parish church built in neo-classical style. The remains of one of the towers of the old Castle Wall can be explored as can the
Arch of the Travessa da Igreja Velha, a beautiful example of Arab architecture.
Other nearby places of interest include Castro Marim (one can visit the dirt-built Castle), the Old Town of Faro, the Ilhas da Ria Formosa (National Park), the old town of Lagos with its old slave market, Loulé, Paderne (last Moorish castle ruin – one of the battlements featured on the Portuguese flag), Vila do Bispo, Sagres (the western most point of Europe and strongest lighthouse in Europe), 
and Silves where one can visit the medieval castle and old Moorish town.
The following web sites contain useful information:
Tourism: https://www.visitportugal.com/en, www.albufeira.com/, www.visitalgarve.pt (Algarve culture, tradition, nature and landscape, Albufeira, cultural calendar, golf, sports and adventure)
Weather: www.meteo.pt
Conference Hotel (www.realhotelsgroup.com/en/grande-real-santa-eulalia-resort-hotel-spa)
The conference will be held at the Grande Real Santa Eulalia Resort in Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal. 
The resort has state of the art conference facilities and has hosted numerous meetings. It boasts 1,500 square meters of meeting space, including a large ballroom area, five breakout rooms, a business centre and two large foyers. The hotel offers free wireless internet in the conferences area and guest rooms. There is a Thalasso Spa with a fitness room, sauna and heated indoor interactive swimming pool, four tennis courts, and four outdoor heated swimming pools (including a salt water pool). A small gift shop is on site. Dry cleaning and laundry services are available. Family amenities include a children’s pool, babysitting and supervised activities. Parking is free. There is direct access to the Santa Eulalia beach and multiple golf courses in the area. The hotel is also a short distance from Maria Luisa Beach and Oura Beach.
The bedrooms have satellite television, air conditioning, climate control, safes and minibars.
Transportation
The Municipality of Albufeira lies on the southern coast of Portugal, in the Algarve. As a tourist destination, Albufeira offers good air, rail and road links. The nearest airport is Faro International Airport, 35Km from Albufeira, which is served by various national and international links.
The Algarve is served by two main roads which extend parallel along the southern coast, the A22 Motorway (Castro Marim to Vila do Bispo) and the National Road 125 (Vila Real de Sto. António to Sagres), both passing close to Albufeira, linking it with Faro.
The road link between Albufeira and Lisbon is the A2 SUL Motorway and by the IP1, and the rail link is the Lisbon-Faro line. The nearest train station is 11Km from the hotel.
The hotel offers a free shuttle to Albufeira.
Weather
High temperatures in the Algarve at this time of year (September) average around 26°C and the lows are about 19°C. Bring appropriate clothing and sun protection. Keep in mind that you may want a sweater as conference rooms tend to be chilly at the beginning of the session.
Fees and Registration
Coming soon!
General Information
Engineering Conferences International (ECI) is a not-for-profit global engineering conferences program, originally established in 1962, that provides opportunities for the exploration of problems and issues of concern to engineers and scientists from many disciplines.
The format of the weeklong research conference provides morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Available time is included during the afternoons for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and/or recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. We believe that the conferences have been instrumental in generating ideas and disseminating information to a greater extent than is possible through more conventional forums
All participants are expected both to attend the entire conference and to contribute actively to the discussions. The recording of lectures and presentations is forbidden. As ECI conferences take place in an informal atmosphere, casual clothing is the usual attire.
Smoking is prohibited at ECI conferences and conference functions.
The Engineering Conferences International conferences calendar and other information can be found on the ECI web site: www.engconfintl.org
Engineering Conferences International
32 Broadway, Suite 314, New York, NY 10004
T: 1-7212-514-6760 – F: 1-212-514-6030
info@engconfintl.org – www.engconfintl.org