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Aneurysm Research Back to top

An investigation into the link between local flow patterns, modified mass transport and aneurysm formation in the cranial vasculature.

Researcher: Jennifer Costelloe

The cranial vasculature is a complicated network of vessels supplying blood to the brain through the Circle of Willis (CoW). One in two people have at least one vessel with the CoW that fails to mature resulting in widely varying flows. The most common form of arterial disease in the cranial vasculature…

Analysis of stent-graft migration after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Researcher: Dr. Timothy Corbett

Endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) has generated widespread interest since the procedure was first introduced in the early 1990's. During minimally invasive surgery an endoprosthesis, consisting of a woven graft sutured to metallic stents is inserted through surgically exposed…

Biomechanics of Post-operative Patient-specific Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Researcher: Dr. David Molony

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is a life threatening disease, with a high mortality rate. One of the treatments of this disease is the insertion of a stent-graft into the site of the aneurysm. This shields the diseased aneurysm wall from the pressures of the blood flow and prevents rupture. There has been…

Developing a Method of Determining Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Geometry and Rupture Threat from Standard 2D Ultrasound Images

Researcher: Sarah Gaughan

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localised swelling of the lower region of the aorta, usually below the renal arteries, that is a significant cause of death in the elderly. Screening currently consists of an ultrasound technician quantifying the aortic diameter from the ultrasound image obtained.…

Improved methods of rupture prediction in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAAs)

Researcher: Siobhan O’Leary

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are a significant cause of death and are currently the 13th leading cause of death in the USA with ~20,000 deaths per year. These aneurysms are typically asymptomatic (no symptoms) and have earned the label “silent killer.” It is generally understood that…

Pre and post‐operative monitoring of abdominal aortic aneurysm behaviour

Researcher: Brónadh Lynch

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are a significant clinical problem with a high incidence of mortality. Modern treatment of AAA now frequently involves the minimally invasive placement of a stent graft in the aneurysm sac to protect the patient from the risk of rupture. The devices are subject to significant…

Rupture Behaviour of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Computational and Experimental Investigation

Researcher: Dr. Barry Doyle

PhD PROJECT DESCRIPTIONComputational methods are utilised to examine some of the various parameters that may contribute to the overall rupture risk of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). 3D reconstruction software allows computed tomography (CT) scan data of these diseased vessels to be examined using…

The Development of a Strain Rupture Index for the Prediction of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Failure

Researcher: Áine Tierney

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) is one of the leading causes of death in the western world. It is characterized by structural remodeling resulting in the gradual weakening and expansion of the aortic wall. AAAs are defined to be an aorta with a diameter 1.5 times the normal infrarenal aortic diameter.…

A Numerical Model to Predict Plaque Response to Carotid Artery Stenting

Researcher: Michael Lawlor

Carotid arteries are located on either side of the neck and serve as the main conduit for blood flow to the brain. The current gold standard for treating diseased carotid arteries is endarterectomy, (Fig.1), in which plaque (Fig. 2) is removed through an invasive surgical procedure requiring general…

Haemodynamic Influences on Cellular Behaviour in Vascular Access Junctions - A Computational and Experimental Study

Researcher: Dr. Gráinne T. Carroll

The development of venous neointimal hyperplasia (VNH) and the subsequent formation of stenotic lesions is the primary cause of vascular access (VA) dysfunction in arteriovenous (AV) fistulae and AV grafts. This research examined the influence of the non-physiological haemodynamic environment within…

Investigation of the Turbulence Characteristics in the Flow through an Arterial-Venous Graft

Researcher: Leonard Browne

Dialysis treatment is required when a patient suffers from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) resulting in loss of or poor kidney function. Haemodialysis is the removal of the subject’s blood to an extracorpal machine, which removes toxins from the blood and returns the blood to the body. To facilitate…

On the Mass Transport Behaviour of Drugs in the Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease Using Drug Eluting Stents

Researcher: Dr. Barry O’Connell

Coronary artery disease refers to the localisation of plaque within the coronary arteries of the heart. A number of procedures are available to vascular surgeons to achieve luminal patency in an occluded artery in order to restore blood flow. One surgical procedure uses a coronary artery bypass graft…

Stresses of arterial reconstructions of medium sized vessels with synthetic materials

Researcher: Dr. Michael O’Donnell

Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries which commonly affects the coronary and the carotid arteries. But it can affect any artery of the body including the femoral artery, the main artery of the thigh, supplying blood to the groin and lower extremity. During the disease process fatty plaques build…

Study on the Baroreceptor Function in the Carotid Artery during Minimally Invasive Surgery

Researcher: John Mulvihill

The development of atherosclerosis in the carotid bifurcation of the cardiovascular system has been the subject of much investigation. Carotid artery stenting is a minimally invasive surgical technique of reducing the atherosclerotic plaque within the carotid artery. However designing a new minimally…

The Analysis of Disturbed Flow in the Arteriovenous Graft Junction

Researcher: Stephen Broderick

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is an end result, when the kidneys fail to function. Ideally, a kidney transplant is the preferred treatment. The availability of a suitable donor is often the issue with this treatment. While the patient is waiting for a replacement kidney, an access site is created so…

The Effect of Carotid Angioplasty and Stenting on Cerebral Blood Perfusion

Researcher: Adrian Lynch

Modern surgical treatment of arterial disease is moving toward minimally invasive surgery. The benefits of this type of treatment over conventional open surgery are numerous including shorter hospital stays and better patient recovery. The treatment of Carotid Artery Disease is one area that is resisting…

Tissue Engineering Research Back to top

An Investigation into the Thrombogenicity of Natural Occurring Materials in Tissue Engineering

Researcher: Dr. Anna Piterina

Tissue Engineering is a relatively new and exciting area of research, combing tissue engineering techniques, materials engineering and mechanical engineering design. Tissue engineering in the treatment of a wide range of clinical disorders has shown considerable promise. However, tissue engineered vascular…

Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of Functional Tissue Engineered Scaffold

Researcher: Aidan Cloonan

Initially, as a Research Assistant under the supervision of Dr. Barry Doyle and Prof. Tim McGloughlin, I was involved in the experimental design, development and testing of hyperelastic silicone elastomers used as abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) analogues. Different material compositions and blends were…

Development of a Physiologically Mimetic Tissue Engineered Cardiovascular Graft for the Treatment of AAAs

Researcher: Laura Davis

Effective arterial replacements for the minimally invasive treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are still an under-developed solution. AAAs are a permanent and irreversible dilation of the aorta which may rupture if untreated. Currently there are two treatment procedures; endovascular aneurysm…

On the Use of Urinary Bladder Matrix as a Tissue-Engineered material for the improvement of Stent Graft performance in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Researcher: Dr. Anthony Callanan

Performance and Characterisation of Naturally Derived Scaffold Materials for Tissue Engineering & Vascular Application

Researcher: Claire Meaney

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The majority of these pathological diseases tend to occur at regions of abnormal blood flow patterns. The cellular vessel wall is highly sensitive to changes in physiological blood flow, and responds by triggering an over aggressive healing…

Processing and Enhancement Biological Derived Biomaterials (ECM) for use in Regenerative Medicine and In Vitro Physiology

Researcher: Rory Mooney

Currently decellurised techniques are in use in the clinical arena for applications such as organ transplantation and replacement. This approach has enormous potential in vascular pathology reparation. Despite significant advances in this field such as chemotactic progenitor cells, resistance to bacterial…

Xenogenic extracellular matrices as potential biomaterials for interposition grafting in urological surgery

Researcher: Dr. Niall Davis

The field of tissue engineering focuses on developing strategies for reconstructing injured, diseased, and congenitally absent tissues and organs. During the last decade urologists have benefited from remodeling and regenerative properties of bioscaffolds derived from xenogenic extracellular matrices

An Investigation of Aseptic Loosening After Total Hip Replacement Surgery

Researcher: Dr. David O’Reilly

Over half a million total hip replacements are being performed between the Europe and the U.S. These numbers are also said to rise with numbers to reach just under a million by the year 2030. This is a very successful surgical operation with only twenty percent failing within there life time. Aseptic…

Biomechanical and computational investigation of hip protectors design and function

Researcher: Aleksandra Madrecka

Hip fractures as a result of a fall are a serious problem for elderly people worldwide. With changing demographics and a longer life expectancy, the sharp increase of hip fracture incidence is projected to continue over the coming years. Although surgery can repair or replace hips, there is 30% 1-year…

Biomechanical Examination and Considerations for Fixation of the Inferior Maxillary Bone due to the Presence of Physiological and Pathological Changes

Researcher: Edel Kavanagh

Biomechanical investigations on the anatomy of the human body have been ongoing for many years. The evolution of technologies has further enabled growth in the area, especially with the development of software technology. This often replaces the difficulties associated with experimental studies. Biomechanical…

Development of a Novel Dual Calcium Phosphate Paste System for Bone Void Filling Applications

Researcher: Aoife Culliton

The main aim of this project is an investigation of a dual calcium phosphate based paste system that, when mixed, results in self setting injectable cement for use as a medical implant with the indication of usage as a bone void filler.The scope of this project is to develop a “pre-mixed”…

The Impact of Computer Wrist Posture on Carpal Tunnel Pressure and Novel Techniques for the Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Researcher: Dr. Maurice Donoghue

RSI is a broad term used to describe a multitude of injuries to muscles, tendons or nerves. It is commonly known as cumulative trauma disorder, occupational overuse syndrome, or work related upper limb disorder (WRULD) and encompasses a wide variety of injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), epicondylitis,…