The cardiac function relies on an intricate molecular and cellular three-dimensional (3d) architecture of a complex, dense and co-dependent cellular network. Structural alterations of the cardiac structure can affect its essential function and lead to severe dysfunction of the organ. Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide with a rising incidence. However, it is not possible to give a generalized answer how the heart is formed. Up to now, cardiac structure as well as physiologic and disease-related tissue alterations of the tissue are mainly investigated by established 2d imaging methods such as optical microscopy or electron microscopy. This work presents a multiscale and multimodal X-ray imaging approach, which allows to probe the heart structure from the scale of entire intact murine hearts to the molecular organisation of the sarcomer structure. While the molecular structure of the actomyosin complex is probed by scanning X-ray diffraction, the 3d arrangement of the cellular network is investigated by propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast tomography. In this context, the concept of 3d virtual histology of cardiac tissue by X-ray phase-contrast tomography using laboratory sources as well as highly coherent synchrotron radiation is being further developed.

Understanding the intricate details of muscle contraction has a long-standing tradition in biophysical research. X-ray diffraction has been one of the key techniques to resolve the nanometer-sized molecular machinery involved in force generation. Modern, powerful X-ray sources now provide billions of X-ray photons in time intervals as short as microseconds, enabling fast time-resolved experiments that shed further light on the complex relationship between muscle structure and function. Another approach harnesses this power by repeatedly performing such an experiment at different locations in a sample. With millions of repeated exposures in a single experiment, X-ray diffraction can seamlessly be turned into a raster imaging method, neatly combining real- and reciprocal space information. This thesis has focused on the advancement of this scanning scheme and its application to soft biological tissue, in particular muscle tissue. Special emphasis was placed on the extraction of meaningful, quantitative structural parameters such as the interfilament distance of the actomyosin lattice in cardiac muscle. The method was further adapted to image biological samples on a range of scales, from isolated cells to millimeter-sized tissue sections. Due to the ‘photon-hungry’ nature of the technique, its full potential is often exploited in combination with full-field imaging techniques. From the vast set of microscopic tools available, coherent full-field X-ray imaging has proven to be particularly useful. This multimodal approach allows to correlate two- and three-dimensional images of cells and tissue with diffraction maps of structure parameters. With the set of tools developed in this thesis, scanning X-ray diffraction can now be efficiently used for the structural analysis of soft biological tissues with overarching future applications in biophysical and biomedical research.

Presenting a state-of-the-art overview of theoretical and computational models that link characteristic biomechanical phenomena, this book provides guidelines and examples for creating multiscale models in representative systems and organisms. It develops the reader's understanding of and intuition for multiscale phenomena in biomechanics and mechanobiology, and introduces a mathematical framework and computational techniques paramount to creating predictive multiscale models. Biomechanics involves the study of the interactions of physical forces with biological systems at all scales – including molecular, cellular, tissue and organ scales. The emerging field of mechanobiology focuses on the way that cells produce and respond to mechanical forces – bridging the science of mechanics with the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology. Linking disparate spatial and temporal scales using computational techniques is emerging as a key concept in investigating some of the complex problems underlying these disciplines. Providing an invaluable field manual for graduate students and researchers of theoretical and computational modelling in biology, this book is also intended for readers interested in biomedical engineering, applied mechanics and mathematical biology.

Mechanobiology in Health and Disease brings together contributions from leading biologists, clinicians, physicists and engineers in one convenient volume, providing a unified source of information for researchers in this highly multidisciplinary area. Opening chapters provide essential background information on cell mechanotransduction and essential mechanobiology methods and techniques. Other sections focus on the study of mechanobiology in healthy systems, including bone, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, the heart and the skin, as well as mechanobiology studies of pregnancy. Final chapters address the nascent area of mechanobiology in disease, from the study of bone conditions, skin diseases and heart diseases to cancer. A discussion of future perspectives for research completes each chapter in the volume. This is a timely resource for both early-career and established researchers working on mechanobiology. - Provides an essential digest of primary research from many fields and disciplines in one convenient volume - Covers both experimental approaches and descriptions of mechanobiology problems from mathematical and numerical perspectives - Addresses the hot topic of mechanobiology in disease, a particularly dynamic field of frontier science

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Functional Imaging and Modeling of the Heart, held in Toronto, ON, Canada, in June 2017. The 48 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The focus of the papers is on following topics: novel imaging and analysis methods for myocardial tissue characterization and remodeling; advanced cardiac image analysis tools for diagnostic and interventions; electrophysiology: mapping and biophysical modeling; biomechanics and flow: modeling and tissue property measurements.

Known as the bible of biomedical engineering, The Biomedical Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition, sets the standard against which all other references of this nature are measured. As such, it has served as a major resource for both skilled professionals and novices to biomedical engineering. Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering, the fourth volume of the handbook, presents material from respected scientists with diverse backgrounds in molecular biology, transport phenomena, physiological modeling, tissue engineering, stem cells, drug delivery systems, artificial organs, and personalized medicine. More than three dozen specific topics are examined, including DNA vaccines, biomimetic systems, cardiovascular dynamics, biomaterial scaffolds, cell mechanobiology, synthetic biomaterials, pluripotent stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, nanobiomaterials for tissue engineering, biomedical imaging of engineered tissues, gene therapy, noninvasive targeted protein and peptide drug delivery, cardiac valve prostheses, blood substitutes, artificial skin, molecular diagnostics in personalized medicine, and bioethics.

This book offers a comprehensive and timely overview of the latest developments in the field of biomechanics and extensive knowledge of tissue structure, function, and modeling. Gathering chapters written by authoritative scientists, it reports on a range of continuum and computational models of solids, and related experimental works, for biomechanical applications. It discusses cutting-edge advances such as constitutive modeling and computational simulation of biological tissues and organs under physiological and pathological conditions, and their mechanical characterization. It covers innovative studies on arteries, heart, valvular tissue, and thrombus, brain tumor, muscle, liver, kidney, and stomach, among others. Written in honor of Professor Gerhard A. Holzapfel, the book provides specialized readers with a thorough and timely overview of different types of modeling in biomechanics, and current knowledge about biological structures and function.