While the role of uterine contractions is well known in labour to ensure successful delivery of the fetus, the mechanisms driving coordinated uterine contractions are less clear. Outside of pregnancy the structural and contractile properties of the uterus relate to fertility issues, and conditions such as endometriosis. I will present data driven computational models that aim to describe the anatomy and function of the uterus in both preclinical animal models and using data that can be acquired clinically in humans. I will describe the key components that we include in multi-scale computational models of uterine function, and strategies that we have followed to combine data from multiple sources to better understand physiology. I will contextualise this research around wider efforts within the 12 Labours Project in which we seek to integrate data from wearables and clinical measurements to understand the human body.
Alys R. Clark (Tue,) studied this question.