Prof. Jos A.E. Spaan, The Netherlands

Chairman of the Department of Medical Physics and of the Cardiovascular Research Institute
Academic Medical Center
University of Amsterdam
The Netherlands
E-mail: J.A.Spaan@amc.uva.nl

Jos Spaan was born 20 February 1945 in Breda, The Netherlands. His Biomedical Engineering career started at the Eindhoven University of Technology where he received his Master degree in Engineering Physics (1972) and his PhD in 1976. His PhD thesis was on oxygenation of haemoglobin solutions. In 1976 he moved to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leiden to study the Engineering principles of Physiology and specialized in the coronary circulation. In 1987 he was appointed Prof. in Medical Physics at the University of Amsterdam. From 1982 to 1994 he was a part time professor in Physiological Physics at the Delft University of Technology.

Jos Spaan was Secretary General of the IFMBE from 1991 – 1997, IFMBE council member from, 1997 – 2003.

At present he is Chairman of the Department of Medical Physics and of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, both at the AMC. He is president of the European Alliance for Medical and Biomedical Engineering and Science, EAMBES, and Editor in Chief of Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, MBEC.

The coronary circulation is responsible for distribution of blood flow over the myocardium. This blood supply may be impeded by atherosclerosis in the larger arteries and microvascular disease. The integrated understanding of all processes involved in blood supply to the myocytes is a challenge to biomedical engineering. The structure of the vascular system is determined by casting techniques. We fill the coronary vessels with fluorescent plastic and cut the hearts sequentially in a cryomicrotome [1]. By image analysis three dimensional mathematical models are made containing all vessels down to 40 micron. These models predict distribution of blood flow to different regions of the heart and are validated by microsphere measurement for flow distribution. Microsphere measurements demonstrate that the perfusion of the layer surrounding the left ventricle cavity is impeded by cardiac contraction, compressing the intramural vessels. This forms a good explanation for why infarctions start predominantly in that layer. The model is further used to understand the interactions of the different mechanisms that control tone of resistance vessels which adapts flow to oxygen demand at the local level. These mechanisms are studied in vitro by isolated vascular segments and the incorporation of these results in the model provides insight in their interaction at different levels in the coronary tree. Casts from human hearts obtained from the transplant program result in a better definition of anatomic abnormalities on disease. Measurement of pressure and blood velocity in human coronary arteries provides insight into the adaptation of microvascular resistance to long lasting reductions in perfusion pressure.

1) Visualisation of intramural coronary vasculature by an imaging cryomicrotome suggests compartmentalisation of myocardial perfusion areas: J. A. E. Spaan et al. Med Biol Eng Comput (2005) 43, 431-436.