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Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a condition in which the artery delivering blood from heart to the rest of the body dilates or 'bulges'. AAA is particularly severe in the elderly, AAA ruptures cause 6,000 death/year in the UK alone. Thus, in 2014 NHS introduced AAA screening. The treatment can be either open surgery, or increasingly, minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) in which the aneurysm is excluded by placing a stent-graft in the aneurysm. Currently, over 50% of cases can be treated by EVAR - NHS cost/patient is ~£20k.
Despite the success of EVAR in treating AAA, there is a condition called 'endoleak' which occurs in 30% of EVARs, in which blood continues to leak into the aneurysm sac. If an endoleak results in an increase in the sac size and pressure, then this can lead to sac rupture which can be fatal. Hence, there is a real need for doctors to be able to monitor and measure sac pressures after an aneurysm is treated by EVAR. This project is directly motivated to address this major clinical need.
The work will comprise of making the pressure sensors, integration of the sensor with a wireless link and optimizing the sensor design using clinical guidance regarding endoleaks.
Supervisors
Dr Manish Tiwari
Dr Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam