Charles Peskin and his colleague David McQueen of New York University direct their research at developing a realistic three-dimensional computer model of the heart, its valves and nearby major vessels. To do this, they have pioneered a method of mathematically modeling how fluids interact with flexible, elastic boundaries like the muscle fibers in the heart.

The following animation displays a single beat of the heart, repeated while the viewpoint rotates. The detailed structure of the heart wall is shown, plus mitral (purple) and tricuspid (yellow) valves. A cycle of 30 sets of data fibers were imported into SoftImage's Creative Environment and expanded into tubes. The resulting surfaces were colored and bump-mapped for texture. SoftImage was also used for lighting, the camera move, and rendering.

animation by G.Foss, PSC
select the image to play the animation (mpeg - 6meg)

This next animation rendered with SGI Explorer shows one of the many layers of fibers in the model. Blood flow and markers are also shown.