Alys Clark, Jenny Kruger, Mabelle Lin, Nancy Yan, Merryn Tawhai
Auckland Bioengineering Institute, , Auckland
Here we present an integrative bioengineering approach to understanding physiology in pregnancy, childbirth and early life. We use computational modelling to provide the mechanistic links between clinically obtained data and organ function. Establishing these relationships is particularly important in and around pregnancy as access to human tissue and use of invasive procedures is limited so data is often ‘low resolution’. We will demonstrate, using as examples computational models of the placenta and childbirth, how we can use physical laws to predict biological function and how the bioengineering approach can be used to provide a basis for new diagnostic and therapeutic measures in pathology.