Simula Research Laboratory

Your brain has its own waterscape: whether you are reading or sleeping, fluid flows through the brain tissue and clears waste in the process. These physiological processes are crucial for the well-being of the brain. In spite of their importance we understand them but little. Mathematics and numerics could play a crucial role in gaining new insight. Indeed, medical doctors express an urgent need for multiscale modeling of water transport through the brain, to overcome limitations in traditional techniques. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to the numerics of the brain's waterscape however, and fundamental knowledge is missing. In response, the Waterscales ambition is to establish the mathematical and computational foundations for predictively modeling fluid flow and solute transport through the brain across scales -- from the cellular to the organ level. The project aims to bridge multiscale fluid mechanics and cellular electrophysiology to pioneer new families of mathematical models that couple macroscale, mesoscale and microscale flow with glial cell dynamics. For these models, we will design numerical discretizations that preserve key properties and that allow for whole organ simulations. To evaluate predictability, we will develop a new computational platform for model adaptivity and calibration. The project is multidisciplinary combining mathematics, mechanics, scientific computing, and physiology. If successful, this project enables the first in silico studies of the brain's waterscape across scales. The new models would open up a new research field within computational neuroscience with ample opportunities for further mathematical and more applied study. The processes at hand are associated with neurodegenerative diseases e.g. dementia and with brain swelling caused by e.g. stroke. The Waterscales project will provide the field with a sorely needed, new avenue of investigation to understand these conditions, with tremendous long-term impact.

Effective prediction, for example of project cost, is an essential aspect of software engineering. Although considerable research has been devoted to this topic, the role of human experts has been under-emphasised. Our aim is to investigate the impact of enhanced metacognitive awareness on prediction and confidence (uncertainty assessment) to improve the prediction practices of software professionals. This will be accomplished by developing metacognitive awareness during a series of experiments with software professionals as participants. The major outcomes will be a better understanding of (i) the factors that influence prediction and uncertainty assessment skills and (ii) how industry practice can be enhanced. The findings will impact the software industry, its clients and other sectors where accurate predictions are required in uncertain environments.

Central venous catheters (CVCs) play a critical role in healthcare and few medical devices are more important and widespread in modern medicine. Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is the most common life-threatening complication of CVCs. Reducing the risk of CRBSI among patients would save costs, reduce length of stay and improve mortality and morbidity. The major challenge of UNICAT is thus to develop a new CVC solution to prevent infection and thrombosis. The project partners will introduce a whole new way of thinking by introducing a disruptive approach which is more than just a coating of devices. A new material will, for the first time, combine ultra-biocompatibility with chemical resistance and desired mechanical properties, to effectively prevent adverse host response, inflammation and infection. A major problem in biomaterials science is that bioresistant materials are inevitably also chemically inert and hence highly difficult to manipulate by traditional wet chemistry. If manipulation (e.g. coating) is achieved, the solution is often unstable and fragile. UNICAT will address this problem by combining two materials using a novel method based on super critical CO2-chemistry. It will result in a hybrid material which is stably formed and combines the best properties of two or more materials. The success criterion is to exceed performance of coatings by producing the first fully biocompatible material to be used as sole robust bulk material of vascular access lines. UNICAT is an international and inter-sector collaborative project comprising R&D activities and secondments between the SME BioModics (BM), the University of Minho (UMinho), the Bar-Ilan University (BIU) and the Simula Research Laboratory (Simula). The consortium has identified the RISE programme as a suitable vehicle for overcoming the identified major challenges and for bridging the knowledge gap, while helping to overcome the financial, technological and intersectoral barriers.