Vascu-X: Diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular implants
Supervisors:
Dr John Mercer, School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
Dr Sean McGinty, James Watt School of Engineering
Prof Steve Neale, James Watt School of Engineering
Summary:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the single most significant medical, social and financial problem, both in Scotland and across the globe, with one-third of global mortality attributable to vascular complications (WHO Stats 2022). CVD is largely driven by atherosclerosis or “furring up of the arteries” that drives the majority of heart attacks, and strokes (BHF, Heart UK).
Patient care can be significantly improved by integrating electrical biosensors into existing medical devices to report on vascular status, such as blockages and blood clots. The Vascu-X pre-spinout research group have devised active vascular implants that can wirelessly detect biological conditions in real-time. Not only does this provide an alert for patients and clinicians but also offers the potential to detect and treat the very earliest signs of disease, thereby avoiding costly inventions. To achieve this high throughput data testing of cell/sensor interactions is required. The successful candidate will be a bioengineer with computer software expertise. This may include COMSOL, Fusion360, Sim4Life. They will contribute to developing new software workflows. Specifically for detecting and treating restenosis and blood clots using electrical impedance data generated by the implants.