VUBME Research

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Vascular Fluid Dynamics and Mass Transfer

Knowles Arthur Overholser, Ph.D., P.E.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering
Phone: (615) 343-3773
E-mail:

mailing address:
Vanderbilt University Station B
Box 351826
Nashville, TN 37235

Physical Address:
5332 Stevenson Center
Nashville, TN 37232

Description of Research Program

Current Projects

Recent Publications

Description of Research Program:

Dr. Overholser and his students are concerned with transport phenomena in the heart and in the lung, and, in particular, the effects of exercise, drugs, and disease on mass transport and fluid flow in those two organs. Tracer methods, magnetic resonance imaging, and mathematical modeling are used to study adaptations in the coronary circulation and in the pumping function of the heart in miniature pigs. Other animal models, as well as fractal-based mathematical techniques, are used to study the biophysics of pulmonary capillary transport and flow.

Current Projects Include:

Fractal analysis of coronary and pulmonary blood flow.

Investigation of the mechanism by which functioning lung surface area is controlled.

Pressure-flow modeling of the pulmonary circulation.

Bioimpedance measurement of body fat in transplant patients.

Recent Publications:

Overholser, K. A., Laughlin, M. H., and Bhatte, M. J. Exercise training-induced increase in coronary vascular transport capacity. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 26 1239-1244 (1994).

Overholser, K. A., Lomangino, N. A., Harris, T. R., Bradley, J. D., and Bosan, S. Deduction of pulmonary microvascular hematocrit from indicator dilution curves. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 56 225-247 (1994).

Harris, Paul A., Bosan, S., Harris, T. R., Laughlin, M. H.,. Parameter identification in coronary pressure-flow models: a graphical approach. Annals of Biomedical Engineering 22 622-637 (1994).

Overholser, K. A., Lomangino, N. A., Parker, R. E., Pou, N. A., and Harris, T. R. Pulmonary vascular resistance distribution and recruitment of microvascular surface area. Journal of Applied Physiology 77(2) 845-855 (1994).

Overholser, K. A., Lomangino, N. A., Harris, T. R., Bradley, J. D., and Bosan, S. Deduction of pulmonary microvascular hematocrit from indicator dilution curves (corrigendum). Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 57 931-933 (1995).

Caruthers, S. D., Harris, T. R., Overholser, K. A., Pou, N. A., and Parker, R. E. Effects of flow heterogeneity on the measurement of capillary exchange in the lung. Journal of Applied Physiology, 79(5) 1449-1460 (1995).

Tack, G., Roselli, R. J., Overholser, K. A., and Harris, T. R. The use of Microsoft Excel as a user interface for biological simulations. Computers and Biomedical Research 28 24-37 (1995).

Harris, P. A., Lorenz, C. H., Holburn, G. E., and Overholser, K. A. Regional measurement of the Gd-DTPA tissue partition coefficient in canine myocardium. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 38 541-545 (1997).