EAPSI:Mechanical Behavior and Microscopic Changes of Arterial Tissues under External Loading

心脏病是导致男性和女性死亡的主要原因。新的治疗方法的开发侧重于使用机械工具，包括机械材料去除过程来去除斑块。为了更好地开发这些过程来对抗心血管疾病，研究人员必须了解在类似负荷条件下动脉系统的结构变化。该奖项支持旨在描述经历伸展负荷的血管组织的宏观和微观结构变化的研究。这项拟议的研究具有创新性，因为它使用了动物动脉，并结合了新加坡国立大学李华良？S生物流体力学研究实验室的多光子显微镜专业知识和最新先进技术。除了科学上的好处，该项目还将帮助一名研究生扩大与亚洲领先的生物机械工程卓越中心的研究人员的互动。该NSF EAPSI奖是与新加坡国家研究基金会合作资助的。由于动脉壁在组织学上的不均一性，在显微镜水平上的研究对于了解动脉的性质及其对外部负荷条件的反应是很重要的。在这项研究中，主动脉将被切成纵向、周向和角向的拉伸测试样本。这些样品将在多光子显微镜下使用专门设计的拉伸测试仪进行水平拉伸。在弹性蛋白和胶原纤维的变形、应力和形态方面，将分析每一动脉层的位移和相互作用的各种变化。这些结果的意义将解释弹性蛋白和胶原纤维在响应体内和体外负荷条件中的作用。这项拟议的研究将为医疗器械研究和开发提供更好的了解动脉微观结构上的机械载荷，包括去除动脉斑块的机械加工过程。

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Development of new treatment methods has focused on the use of mechanical tools, including mechanical material removal processes to remove plaque. To best develop these processes to fight cardiovascular diseases, researchers must understand the structural changes of the arterial system under similar loading conditions. This award supports research that aims to describe changes in the macro and micro structures of blood vessel tissues experiencing extensile load. The proposed research is innovative in that it uses animal arteries and incorporates the expertise and recently advanced technology of multi-photon microscopy from Dr. Leo Hwa Liang?s Biofluid Mechanics Research Laboratory at the National University of Singapore. In addition to scientific benefits, the project will help a graduate student broaden his interaction with researchers in biomechanical engineering leading center of excellence in Asia. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Singapore. Due to the histological inhomogeneity of arterial walls, a study at the microscopic level is important for understanding the nature of the artery and its response to external loading conditions. In this study, aortic arteries will be cut into tensile test samples in longitudinal, circumferential, and angular directions. The samples will be horizontally stretched using a specially-designed tensile tester under a multi-photon microscope. Various changes in the displacement and interactions of each arterial layer will be analyzed in the areas of deformation, stress, and morphology of elastin and collagen fibers. The significance of the results will explain the role of elastin and collagen fibers in responding to in-body and out-body loading conditions. The proposed research will provide better understanding of mechanical loads on the microscopic architecture of the artery for medical device research and development including machining processes for removing arterial plaque.