Improvement of hemodynamic performance and vessel repair using novel stent design

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When blood flow is obstructed due to the presence of an atherosclerotic plaque in a blood vessel, coronary stents are often deployed to "re-open" the passage. However, this deployment involves very strong mechanical forces to deform the stent into its final shape and result in the destruction of the innermost layer of cells. A rapid repair of this layer is critical to avoid clotting or restenosis, e.g. reformation of the obstruction. With Prof Evans, we have demonstrated that this repair process is dependent on flow patterns within the stented vessel and we want to use this knowledge to create a novel coronary stent. The aim of the project will be to design, manufacture and validate a new coronary stent. As a researcher at the frontier between engineering and medicine, you will combine traditional mechanical engineering tools (CAD, Flow analysis, PIV) to optimize the design of the coronary stent with biotechnological techniques (cell culture, microscopy, ...) to validate its effectiveness. This project will be supported by the INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine. INSIGNEO is a research initiative between the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sheffield and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust. INSIGNEO intends to realise the scientific ambition behind the Virtual Physiological Human, producing a transformational impact on healthcare. While recently established, INSIGNEO is already considered one of worldwide-leading institutions in the area of in silico medicine research