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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
PI name & contact details:
School:
Dr. Patrick McGarry, Office 3039, Engineering Building, NUI
Galway, University road, Galway, Ireland
email: patrick.mcgarry@nuigalway.ie
Engineering and Informatics
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Yes
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Biomedical Engineering
Research group / centre website:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/mechbio/
http://ncbes.nuigalway.ie/
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/mechbio/staff/pmg.html
http://ncbes.nuigalway.ie/our-people.aspx
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max): Dr. McGarry’s
research group, which consists of nine PhD students, focuses on the development of
computational and experimental methods to investigate the biomechanical behaviour of
biological cells, tissue and medical devices. PhD students in this group have won several leading
international and national research awards in the field of biomedical engineering.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web): Engineering of new
medical devices for the treatment of heart disease using advanced computer models and
experimental testing
Background: Stents are small metal scaffolds that are placed at the sites of blockages in diseased
arteries. The stent is expanded using a balloon, and following removal of the balloon the stent
remains in place, supporting the walls of the unblocked vessel so that normal blood flow can occur.
However, in a significant number of cases, a new blockage forms in the vessel at the site of the
stent. In healthy unblocked vessels the cells (known as smooth muscle cells) in the artery wall
actively produce stress so that the vessel radius can be changed in order to regulate blood -flow.
However, metal stents are stiff compared to the vessel and resist the forces produced by the cells.
This has a knock-on effect of changing the structure of the tissue surrounding the cells, leading to
the development of a new blockage.
Project goals: (i) In this project we will develop finite element computer models that are capable of
predicting the changes in the forces actively generated in the artery wall due to the implantation of
the stent. This advanced state-of-the-art modelling will also be used to uncover the mechanisms by
which the structure of the arterial wall is changed in response to insertion of the stent; (ii) A
synthetic artery will be constructed in the laboratory using collagen, cells and elastin (the natural
building blocks of our arteries). Stents will be inserted in this synthetic vessel and changes in vessel
force generation and cell behaviour will be monitored.
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Based on the novel investigation using computer modelling and laboratory testing new stent designs
will be developed so that cells in the vessel wall surrounding the stent will not alter their patterns of
force production and the vessel will remain unblocked and healthy following stent insertion. A
successful outcome in this project would have highly significant implications for the engineering of
medical devices for the treatment of heart disease.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
NUI Galway is an internationally leading centre of biomedical engineering research and is home to
the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, a multidisciplinary research centre that
consists of 300 researchers from the fields of science and engineering. NUI Galway houses state-ofthe art laboratory and experimental test facilities that are critical to the proposed project. The
project will also have full access to supercomputing facilities provided by the Irish Centre for HighEnd Computing, also based on the NUI Galway campus.
The Galway region is the home to Europe’s largest cluster of biomedical device companies. The
European headquarters of two of the leading stent design multinational corporations, Boston
Scientific and Medtronic, are located in Galway. Several indigenous cardiovascular device companies
have also been established in the Galway over the past decade. NUI Galway has strong links with all
medical device companies in the region and the topic of this project is highly relevant to such hitech industries.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply: Mechanical Engineering,
Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering.
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
x
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ ____
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _____
Suitable for either/Don’t know: __x___