Human Physiology

Dr. Annan is modeling renal physiology which focuses on Blood Flow, Hemodialysis and Acid-Base Balance in End-Stage Renal Diseases (ESRD) Patients. The dynamic models are to capture key physiological processes that may be involved in acid-base homeostasis associated with ESRD, and show how they are formulated. Most ESRD patients receiving dialysis therapy are in a state of constant metabolic acidosis which is associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The modeling mechanisms involve coupled transient partial differential equations (PDEs) that describe convection-diffusion and solute concentration transports. Numerical solutions of these PDEs help to integrate and interpret quantities determined by physiogists in many experimental trials. The models aim to gain insight into the factors regulating body bicarbonate stores in patients receiving hemodialysis treatment, and to use this knowledge to construct testable mathematical models that will allow us to investigate, in more detail, (i) the overall nature of solute exchange across dialysis membranes, (ii) the body's response to the alkalinization during the dialysis (intradialytic) session, (iii) the events influencing body alkali stores during the post-dialysis (interdialytic) period, and (iv) the overall variation in solute exchange between dialysate, blood and the body compartments.

• Mathematical models of renal hemodynamics
• Dialysate chemistry, acid-base balance in dialysis patients
• Urea Kinetics; Fluid and electrolyte balance
• Numerical methods for models of renal systems
• Countercurrent systems modeling
• Advancing dialysis technology; hemodialfiltration
• Neuronal Dynamics and Electrocardiogram

Interesting Research Topics

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