August Digital twins for the win with aortas
Research Lives Article: Niamh Hynes, vascular surgeon and post-doctoral researcher, University of Galway
This article by Dr Claire O’Connell originally appeared in the Irish Times on 8th August 2024.
What does a vascular surgeon do?
I use the analogy that we are like plumbers. We look after the pipes, the blood vessels everywhere in your body except your heart and your brain. If these pipes develop a blockage through plaque build-up or a clot, or if they burst because of a weakness in the vessel wall, that can cause big problems. We can help by intervening with surgery or what’s called “endovascular surgery”, such as inserting a stent into the blood vessel.
What kind of research are you involved in?
My research mainly focuses on the aorta, the largest artery in the body. If part of the aorta becomes dilated, it is at risk of rupturing, which is a lethal condition and medical emergency. I’m looking to develop better ways of predicting when a person’s aorta is likely to rupture.
How does your approach differ from current methods?
At the moment we assess the risk of rupture by measuring the diameter of the aorta. That’s like measuring the size of the balloon as we blow it up and trying to gauge at what size it will burst. But I see the problem more like trying to figure out when a riverbed might crumble.
The wall of the aorta, the riverbed, is under stress from blood flow that constantly thrashes against the vessel wall. We need to predict when the strain on the aortic wall will be overcome by the stress of the repeated injury from the blood flow.
How do you do that through your research?
We examine biopsies of aortic tissues harvested during surgery to learn more about how the tissue behaves under various conditions see what kinds of genes are being expressed and how this correlates with the biomechanical function of the tissue.
We are also using AI and machine learning and building digital twins to see can we better predict when a patient’s aorta is likely to rupture.
What’s a digital twin?
It’s where we bring lots of key data about an individual patient, such as aortic wall strength, blood flow rate, blood pressure etc into a computer simulation model and use that “digital twin” to help us figure out what the best treatment options might be and how to design the next generation of aortic stent grafts and therapies.
What do you wish more people knew about clinical research?
I think it’s that no man or woman is an island, that we need multidisciplinary teams with lots of different experts. The research I do involves mathematicians, computer scientists, bioengineers, physicists, anatomists, physiologists, biochemists and medical devices companies.
In addition to my clinical work at Galway Clinic, I work with experts in the University of Galway, Europe and the USA — including at Yale, MIT, Milan, Italy, Teltow Germany, Aarhus Denmark and also at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, where I did my aortic fellowship training. We also work closely with industry partners.
What trends have you seen in medical device research in Ireland in recent years?
Ireland is known internationally as being one of the world leaders in research and development of medical devices and pharma. In the last decade or so we have seen a lot of public investment into research in those areas. I work with two Science Foundation Ireland centres, CÚRAM and Insight, that create environments where experts can collaborate, build networks and engage meaningfully with Industry partners. That’s really important.
How do you like to use your time away from work?
Living by the sea in Galway lends itself to great walks and lovely coastal drives. I am also lucky to be able to spend time with friends in some of the great restaurants we have nearby. But in truth, my favourite pastime has to be shopping for fashion!
See original article at https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2024/08/08/digital-twins-for-the-win-with-aortas/