Integrated Ultrasonic Sensors for In-Situ Stent, Graft, or Stent-Graft Patency Monitoring

本博士项目将开发用于血管支架和支架/移植物的可植入超声传感设备。目标是生产一种能够持续监测支架或支架/移植物状态的设备，检测植入物的通畅性并监测可能的狭窄、血栓形成、错位或泄漏。背景和动机--尽管医疗保健服务有了显着改善，但心血管疾病（CVD）仍然是世界第一大死亡原因。欧盟心血管疾病的经济负担估计超过1960亿欧元。该提案试图构建一种智能支架或支架/移植物装置，其可以使用现有的外科手术和导管插入术进行部署，但提供了预计可降低患者发病率和死亡率的先进技术能力。一种可以相互作用并报告其自身血管状态的植入物，例如血管泄漏、重新阻塞或凝块时，将是变革性的。在这个项目中，我们将研究如何放置一个微型超声换能器到支架/移植物之前，它是部署可以帮助监测血管和支架/移植物在it. Current研究智能支架包括使用超声波（US）设备监测血流速度或设备的电性能的变化与周围组织的建立植入物的响应的健康。此外，我们提出的超声传感器将允许对植入物和血管进行超声询问，提供进一步的诊断信息。这开启了血管内泄漏检测的可能性，监测任何阳性血管重塑或植入物周围积聚的任何材料的量和成分、狭窄或血栓形成，提供关键临床数据，告知是否需要进一步干预。传感方法-将超声换能器集成到心血管植入物上，我们将能够连续测量血管的两种物理特性中的一种或两种;首先是作为多普勒频移流量计的血液流速，其次是血管的物理解剖结构，使用超声波作为类似于介入性血管内超声的成像方法，给出血管闭塞的百分比和组成，IVUS）模式，其他可能性包括在植入物内放置表面声波（SAW）设备，该设备可以检测在其附近积聚的材料。设备放置-可以将植入式传感设备放置在支架或支架/移植物内部，因为提出部署类似的智能设备，或者在超声容易地穿过血管/设备壁的情况下，可以将其放置在血管外部或多腔移植物的层之间;也已经提出用于其他智能血管传感器的定位。

This PhD project will develop miniaturised ultrasonic sensing devices for vascular stents and stents/grafts. The goal is to produce a device that can continually monitor the state of the stent or stent/graft, detecting the implant's patency and monitoring for possible stenosis, thrombosis, malposition or leak. Background and motivation - Despite significant improvements in healthcare provision, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of death in the World. The economic burden to the European Union for cardiovascular disease is estimated at over 196 Billion EUR. This proposal attempts to build towards a smart stent or stent/graft device that can be deployed using existing surgical and catheterisation procedures, yet provides advanced technological abilities that are predicted to reduce patient morbidity and mortality. An implant which can interact and report on its own vessel status, such as when the vessel leaks, re-blocks or clots would be transformative. In this project we will investigate how placing a miniature ultrasonic transducer onto the stent/graft before it is deployed could help to monitor the health of the vessel and the stent/graft within it. Current research on smart stents includes using ultrasound (US) devices for monitoring blood flow velocity or the electrical properties of the device which change in response with the build-up of tissue around the implant. In addition, our proposed US sensor will allow the ultrasonic interrogation of the implant and vessel providing further diagnostic information. This opens up the possibility of endovascular leak detection, monitoring any positive vessel remodelling or the amount and composition of any material building up around the implant, stenosis or thrombosis, giving key clinical data informing on whether further intervention is necessary. Sensing methods - with an ultrasonic transducer integrated onto a cardiovascular implant we will be able to continually measure one or both of two physical properties of the vessel; first the blood flow rate as a Doppler shift flow meter and second the physical anatomy of the vessel, giving the percentage and composition of the occlusion of the vessel using the ultrasonic waves as an imaging method similar to interventional intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) modalities, other possibilities include placing Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices within the implant which could detect material building up in their vicinity. Device placement - a miniaturised sensing device could be placed inside the stent or stent/graft as similar smart devices are proposed to be deployed or with the ultrasound passing through the vessel/device wall easily it could be placed outside the vessel or between the layers of a multi-lumen graft; positioning that has also been proposed for other smart vascular sensors.