PhD position in Computational Physiology

The Challenge

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) are local dilatation of the abdominal aorta. Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a procedure in which a stent graft is placed in the aneurysm to block blood flow in the aneurysm. Type II endoleaks are a persistent problem after an EVAR procedure. They are characterized by the reversal of blood into the aneurysmal sac from side branches and growth of the aneurysm thereof. The reasons for the occurrence of type II endoleaks in some patients is an open question fundamentally, the fluid mechanical aspects that lead to reverse flow to the aneurysm sac from side branches remain an enigma.

In this project you will develop a computational model within the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) based framework Musubi to incorporate aspects related to flow reversal. You will apply the simulation model to answer a complex question in physiology. Direct collaboration with the R&D department of Medtronic and the Rijnstate hospital in Arnhem will be available. You will be employed at the Engineering Fluid Dynamics group of the University of Twente (UT). You will have exposure to high performance computing resources, clinical data as well as flow experiments conducted in collaborating groups within UT like the Multi-Modality Imaging (M3i) and Physics of Fluids (PoF) groups. Your doctoral advisors will be Asst. Prof. Dr. Kartik Jain and Prof. Dr. Michel Reijnen.