South London doctor wins British Heart Foundation picture competition

A scientist has won the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) annual Reflections of Research image competition.

The competition challenges BHF-funded scientists to put forward the most awe-inspiring image taken as part of their research into cardiovascular health and disease.

Each offers a stunning insight into their crucial work. 

Paths of the Heart wowed the judges and took home the top prize. Entered by BHF-funded researcher Dr Marina Strocchi, it was taken as part of her work at King’s College London’s department of Biomedical Engineering, based at St Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth.  

The multicoloured structure, generated by a computer model, is a map of bundles of cells that together make up the heart muscle.

These bundles, each shown by a separate line, transmit the electrical signal that causes the heart to beat. The direction each line is pointing indicates the direction the electrical signal travels.     

The signal starts in the two top chambers of the heart, the atria, and moves to the bottom two, the ventricles.

By accurately modelling the heartbeat signal as it passes through the heart, Dr Strocchi can simulate how an individual patient’s heart works, to better predict how they will respond to different treatments.  

The doctor said: “I am thrilled that my entry was chosen by the judges as this year’s winner. It is great to be able to share the beautiful side of my research.   

“In our research, computer models help doctors understand so much more about diseases of the heart.

“By simulating how electrical activity spreads through the heart, following the direction shown in the picture, to then trigger a heartbeat, we can predict how specific patients will respond to treatments to personalise and adjust how we care for them.”

Pictured top: The winning submission, Paths of the Heart Dr Marina Strocchi (Picture: BHF/Marina Strocchi)