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Computer Modeling of Growth, Remodeling, and Failure of Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

Event Type
Ceremony/Service
Sponsor
Mechanical Science and Engineering
Location
4100 Sidney Lu Mechanical Engineering Building
Date
Oct 17, 2023   4:00 pm  
Speaker
Professor Victor Barocas, Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota
Contact
Amy Rumsey
E-Mail
rumsey@illinois.edu
Phone
217-300-4310
Views
64
Originating Calendar
MechSE Seminars

Abstract

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA), an enlargement of the aorta near its exit from the heart, is largely harmless unless a vessel wall failure event occurs. Such an event, however, is life-threatening and would best be prevented by surgical intervention before the tissue fails. Surgical intervention, while effective, is also costly and dangerous, so the challenge to the biomedical engineer is to develop tools to help identify and quantify the risk to a specific patient based on available information. In collaboration with Jessica Wagenseil at Washington University, we are employing a combination of mouse models, computer models, and ex vivo experiments to understand how ATAAs grow and rupture, with the eventual goal of patient-specific predictive models. We are still a ways away, but the journey so far has been interesting and informative.

About the Speaker

Victor Barocas is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the interim Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Over the past two decades, he has studied the biomechanics of deformation, failure, and remodeling of native and engineered tissues for a wide range of organs and systems, including ocular, cardiovascular, dental, musculoskeletal, and dermal tissues. His current work focuses primarily on the cardiovascular system and on the biomechanics of aneurysm disease. He served as the co-editor-in-chief of the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering from 2012-2021, and he served many years as the Director of Graduate Studies for Biomedical Engineering at Minnesota. He received the 2023 ASME Robert M. Nerem Medal for Education and Mentorship.

Hosts: Professor Callan Luetkemeyer, and Professor Iwona Jasiuk

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