Description
Medical Devices Design in Cardiovascular Applications (MeDDiCA)
Is an innovative, multi-disciplinary and multi-centre Marie Curie Initial Training Network (MC ITN) focused on Cardiovascular Engineering and Medical Devices.MeDDiCA Early Stage Researchers will build a career in cardiovascular engineering founded on both “skills for life” (communication skills, research and project management, IP, patenting, entrepreneurship, etc.) and “academic and technical skills”. The ultimate aim of MeDDiCA is to form well-rounded individuals, unlocking their potential in order to give them tools to succeed in an extremely changing area.
About MeDDiCA
Project background
European Health, Cardiovascular disease and Medical Devices: Health and health technology are top priorities for research in Europe, with the Framework 7 HEALTH Programme aiming to improve the health of European citizens and strengthen competitiveness of European health-related industry. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been identified as a priority in this context.Individual Research Projects
PROJECT 1: Design and development of resorbable stents
Host: Department of Structural Engineering, Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Italy
PROJECT 2: Design and development of drug eluting stents and delivery devices
Host: Department of structural engineering, Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Italy
PROJECT 3: In vitro characterisation of stent deployment and vessel deformation
Host: Academic Unit of Medical Physics, University of Sheffield (USFD), UK
PROJECT 4:Modelling of structural deformations during stent implantation
Host: Academic Unit of Medical Physics, University of Sheffield (USFD), UK
PROJECT 5: Study of consequences of stents on local hemodynamics using medical imaging
Host: CNRS – Universitè Technologique de Compiegne (UTC), France
PROJECT 6: Multi-Scale modeling and simulation framework for MeDDiCA applications
Host: Department of Computer Science, University of Amsterdam (UoA), Netherlands
PROJECT 7: Validation of Biomedical multi-scale models
Host: Department of Computer Science, University of Amsterdam (UoA) , Netherlands
PROJECT 8: FSI and multi-scale models of thrombogenic and cavitational effects in PHVs
Host: Department of Bioengineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TuCN), Romania
PROJECT 9: PHV FSI analysis incorporating local anatomy and electro-mechanical activity
Host: Department of Bioengineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TuCN), Romania
PROJECT 10: Assessment of percutaneous heart valves.
Host: Institute of Child Health (ICH), University College London (UCL), UK
PROJECT 11: Multi-physics and multi-scale model of the left ventricle.
Host: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London (UCL), UK
PROJECT 12: In-vitro and ex-vivo testing of biological and percutaneous heart valves
Host: Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e), Netherlands
PROJECT 13: Experimental fluid dynamic evaluation of the thrombogenic potential of PHVs
Host: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Italy.
WP1 Modelling techniques
(Led by POLIMI and UoA)Biomedical systems are inherently complex; they are multi-scale, multi-science systems, covering a range of phenomena from molecular and cellular biology, via physics and medicine, to engineering, crossing many orders of magnitude in temporal and spatial scales. WP1 brings together the elements of the different IRPs covering modelling & simulation. These form a generic set of methodologies, including finite element, complex automata and lumped parameter modelling, with a wide range of applications beyond the exemplar applications of MeDDiCA. Main activities for this WP are:
WP1.1 Definition of numerical models from medical image data: IVUS, CT, MR: Availability and interpretation of medical image data to describe patient-specific anatomy relates to effort undertaken in WP3. Clinical translation requires the development and evaluation of computational tools to allow numerical models to be defined from image data. Activities include: Definition of in vivo stent and vessel geometry from angiography including arterial wall reconstruction from images using volume management structure rendering techniques. High resolution in vitro characterization of stent strut geometry from µCT scans. Description of heart chamber geometry from echocardiographic data.
WP1.2 Description of biologically oriented computational frameworks for multi-scale modelling: This work package will cover two fundamental activities. 1. Development of multi-scale models at organ level (left ventricle), including descriptions of biochemical reactions at the cellular level and electromechanical events in the heart. 2. Models at the tissue level, describing through a hierarchical aggregation of coupled cellular automata, agent-based models, and continuum descriptions and the inflammatory response of the arterial wall to specific stimuli. Specific applications to stent design will be explored. This activity will provide a unified framework to study cardiovascular diseases from an integrative perspective.
WP1.3 Coupling across modelling length and time-scales. Lumped parameters boundary conditions coupled to local 3-D CFD: Complex interactions between the heart, vasculature and systemic physiological responses make it inappropriate to consider components of the cardiovascular system in isolation. In silico interactions bring new insight to the study of these issues. A solution to describe such problems is to couple lumped parameter models of the boundary conditions with a finite element model of the part where detail and accuracy are needed. This approach will be exercised in the context of patient-specific valve simulation. Another approach, developed in the COAST project will apply complex automata techniques to further understanding of the inflammatory response in the arterial wall in the context of novel stent designs.
WP1.4 Use of finite element analysis for cardiovascular applications: 3D CFD/FSI, 3D structural FEA, Thermal analogues - drug elution: Task brings together aspects of the IRPs involving use of finite-element and associated methods. ANSYS are ideally placed to oversee the activity in this task and provide training and support for the ESRs. The associated research areas include; structural simulations of stent and arterial geometry and their interaction, including contact behaviour, virtual prototyping and design optimisation of stent and valve geometries and device geometry/physiological environment interacts (links to WP3),constitutive law development and implementation for accurate representation of complex materials (interaction with WP2 and WP3), FSI analysis of valve behaviour and extension to interaction with the blood constituents (multi-phase flows and transport phenomena) and analysis of drug eluting stents by thermal analogy of mass drug transport.
