Dr Afshin Anssari-Benam, Dr Andrea Bucchi, Dr Najma Latif
No more applications being accepted
About the Project
Project ID: ENGN3400217
In accordance with The University of Portsmouth’s strategic research themes, this project explores and addresses an important contemporary and evolving challenge in the area of healthcare and medical technology, centred on cardiovascular engineering and tissue biomechanics.
The statistics of the population affected by heart valve disorders requiring surgical replacement reveal the extent of the problem. According to the latest figures published by the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR), 4,561 first-time aortic valve replacement procedures were carried out in England and Wales in 2013, and 70,276 in the US, with a projected estimation of a threefold increase in these numbers over the next 20 to 30 years. Yet, even the most efficient clinically available valve substitutes, namely the bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs), are associated with a staggering mortality rate, up to 44% in 5
to 10 years after implantation, while the surviving patients will all require re-operation. These severe shortcomings reveal an urgent need to design more efficient and functional BHVs.
This project aims to investigate and characterise the biomechanical function of the natural aortic valve and the currently clinically available BHVs, in order to compare the features of the two valve types and establish areas for improving the design of new BHVs with more efficient and longer-lasting function. This project encompasses experimental investigations, continuum-mechanics and computational modelling. The project objectives include: (i) to establish the biomechanical behaviour of the valve leaflets experimentally using uniaxial and biaxial loading regimens; (ii) to develop continuum models that describe the stress-strain
behaviour of the leaflets observed experimentally; and (iii) to incorporate these data into a computational model using fluid-solid interaction (FSI) methods to simulate the in-vivo behaviour of the valves.
The uniaxial tests will be carried out to develop the skills of the candidate in performing experiments with soft tissues, while the biaxial tests will produce the required data for the simulation of the behaviour of the leaflets. Appropriate continuum-based mathematical models will be developed based on the structural building blocks of the valves, and will be calibrated using the experimental data. The FSI modelling phase of the project will utilise the calibrated mathematical models, and will incorporate the development of custom codes or interfacing multiple types of commercially available software to perform FSI analysis.
Funding Notes
An appropriate first or upper second class honours degree of any United Kingdom university or a recognised equivalent non-UK degree of the same standard honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject or a master’s degree in an appropriate subject. Exceptionally, equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications will be considered.
Please quote project title and project ID (ENGN3400217) when applying.
References
References to recent published articles:
[1] http://www.ucl.ac.uk/nicor/audits/adultcardiac/reports.
[2] D. Mozaffarian et al. (2015), Circulation 131, e29-e322.
[3] A. Kheradvar et al. (2015), Ann Biomed Eng. 43, 2314-33.
[4]. A. Anssari- Benam et al. (2016), J Mater Sci Mater Med. 27, 42.
[5] A. Anssari-Benam et al. (2016), R Soc Open Sci, under revision.
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