MRes Bioengineering Research Project
Title of the project: Mathematical model of liver microcirculation
Supervisor 1: Dr Jennifer Siggers
Department: Bioengineering
Imperial College campus: South Kensington
email: j.siggers@imperial.ac.uk
Supervisor 2: Prof James Moore Jr
Department: Bioengineering
Imperial College campus: South Kensington
email: james.moore.jr@imperial.ac.uk
Project Description: (up to 200 words)
The liver performs a wide range of complex physiological functions, and its blood supply is
specialised to this task. Unusually for an organ it is supplied with blood from two major vessels
(oxygenated blood from the hepatic artery and partially deoxygenated blood from the hepatic portal
vein), while one vessel, the hepatic vein, drains the blood. On the microscale, the liver can be
thought of as divided into functional units called lobules. Each lobule is supplied by blood from
portal tracts, which contain the terminal branches of the hepatic arterial tree and the hepatic portal
venous tree. Blood drains through the lobule and exits via the central veins, which are the terminal
branches of the venous tree.
In this project you will investigate the fluid mechanics of the blood flow on the microscale using a
simplified fluid mechanics model.
Ascites is a condition, usually secondary to liver disease, in which fluid collects in the peritoneal
cavity. It happens when the liver produces an excessive amount of interstitial fluid. The fluid is
partially taken up by the lymphatic vessels, while the rest of it flows through the liver tissue into the
peritoneal cavity (anterior to the liver) and the diaphragmatic space (superior to the liver). In this
project, you will extend our previous work on this condition by developing a mathematical model of
drainage of fluid from the cavity.
Key techniques: (please include only the names of techniques, not a description)
Mathematical modelling
Fluid mechanics
Numerical work
References: (up to 3 references related to the project)
Mathematical model of blood and interstitial flow and lymph production in the liver. Siggers JH,
Leungchavaphongse K, Ho C-H, Repetto R. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, DOI
10.1007/s10237-013-0516-x
Mathematical modeling of the circulation in the liver lobule. Bonfiglio A, Leungchavaphongse K,
Repetto R, Siggers JH. ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 132 / 111011