Project

Cerebral blood flow modelling in support of patient-specific planning of minimally invasive brain interventions

Code
DOCT/011800
Duration
28 March 2024 → 21 September 2025 (Ongoing)
Doctoral researcher
Research disciplines
  • Engineering and technology
    • Biomedical modelling
    • Biofluid mechanics
Keywords
Numerical modelling of cerebral hemodynamics Treatment planning of minimally invasive procedures in the brain Vascular mapping and catheter tracking
 
Project description

Over the past decades, open surgery for medical interventions has increasingly been replaced by minimally invasive procedures with lower complications risks. Within this context, catheter-based endovascular treatments have been introduced in neuro-interventional surgery for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. For example, endovascular embolization is now often the treatment of choice for intracranial aneurysms and cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Despite the advantages, there are still a number of technical challenges to overcome, such as the difficulty to efficiently maneuver the catheter towards the region of interest in the brain. Another issue is the risk of complications such as incomplete embolization or recanalization of the malformation. Hence, new methods for improved treatment planning and catheter navigation would be most welcome. The goal of this project is to develop methods for faster and more efficient neuro-interventional procedures with less radiation exposure for the patient and a higher probability of complete and sustained embolization. To attain this goal, tools will be developed for pretreatment embolization planning and catheter navigation based on vascular mapping and cerebral blood flow modelling.