A new supercomputer simulation of blood moving around the entire human body compares extremely well with real-world flow measurements.
The software uses a 3D representation of every artery that is 1mm across or wider, scanned from a single person.
Its accuracy passed a first key test when physicists compared blood flow in the virtual aorta with the that of real fluid in a 3D-printed replica.
It is called “Harvey” – a tribute to the 17th-century physician William Harvey who first discovered that blood is pumped in a loop around the body. At the core of Harvey’s computer code is a 3D framework, built up from full-body CT and MRI scans of a single patient.
