Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIO-CAPTURE (Biomechanical Characterization of Carotid Plaque Rupture)
Reporting period: 2017-07-01 to 2019-06-30
Subsequently an algorithm in MATLAB environment was developed to acquire local deformation in atherosclerotic arteries from the raw ultrasound data. The developed algorithm was successfully applied to the data collected during the inflation tests. With this approach, local tissue deformation information during the intraluminal pressurization in atherosclerotic arteries was obtained (Figure 2). Plaque specific, heterogeneous material properties, essential for accurate biomechanical investigation of atherosclerotic arteries were obtained in the next phase of the project. Structural information of the arteries was acquired with high resolution MRI technique, also developed by the research team. The MR images enabled characterization of the mechanically important plaque structures, which were to be implemented in the biomechanical models. Plaque-specific FE models were created from high detail plaque geometries. The reconstructed plaque geometries registered to the ultrasound images. Using inverse FE technique, the material properties of atherosclerotic arteries were obtained (Figure 3).
With this project, the research team identified heterogenous biomechanical characteristics of atherosclerotic arteries, for the first time in such detail and under conditions mimicking physiological conditions. The intermediate and final results of the project was presented to large audiences with diverse backgrounds (biomechanical scientists, biomedical engineers, cardiovascular clinicians) in various scientific meetings such as 1.) Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics 2019, Vienna, Austria; 2.) Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering and Biotransport Conference (SB3C) 2019, Pittsburgh, USA; 3.) Vulnerable Patient Meeting 2019, Stresa, Italy; 4.) International Conference on Computational and Mathematical Biomedical Engineering 2019, Sendai City, Japan; 5.) Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Disease 2019, London, England; 6.) 7th Dutch Bio-Medical Engineering Conference 2019, Egmond aan Zee, NL; 7.) World Congress of Biomechanics 2018, Dublin, Ireland. In total I have given 14 talks and 18 abstracts published. During the course of the project, three articles were published in the following peer reviewed, international journals: 1.) Journal of Biomechanics; 2.) Interface Focus; 3.) Journal of Structural Biology
At the personal (career) level, the project impacted the PI by helping him gain new scientific skills in medical imaging, publishing in high-impact, peer-reviewed, international journals, providing significant exposure to wide variety of audiences by attending multiple scientific conferences, symposia and meetings, and starting new national and international interinstitutional collaborations. The successful performance of the PI in this project surely positively impacted his acceptance as an assistant professor at the host institution in July, 2019.