Date of Award

Fall 2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor

Tarek Shazly

Abstract

In this work, we address a persistent global challenge of vascular disease, specifically peripheral artery disease (PAD), and arteriovenous fistula (AVF) complications in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The important role of vascular geometry in disease intervention plans and the development of endovascular therapeutic strategies (e.g., Drug-coated balloon (DCBs)) is critical in addressing these challenges.

This study evaluates the feasibility of co-delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) and valsartan (VAL) using urea-based coatings in DCB, analyzes the coating morphology and microstructural changes to improve therapeutic results. A computational finite element model was developed to complement experimental work, simulate tissue-coating interactions, compute coating surface area, and coating-tissue contact area as key factors in DCB performance and durability. Another investigation highlights the significant impact of vascular geometry on diagnostic accuracy and offers novel approaches to improving patient health care in vascular interventions.

The study also investigates how imaging modalities (e.g. intravenous ultrasound (IVUS)/angiography) show different accuracy in assessing arterial lesion using fabricated geometric models as a reference standard. It also searches into the impact of arterial geometry properties particularly Gaussian Curvature (GC) on diagnostic accuracy and clinically decision making in vascular access planning. Ultimately, the findings from this study link between the complex relationship between the structure of blood vessels, the technology used for imaging them, and the effectiveness of endovascular therapies. This understanding is crucial to create optimum treatment plans for complex vascular conditions.

Rights

©: 2025, Dima Hussein Ali Bani Hani

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