Team 6

RadioFake: Medium Size Vessel Embolization System with MR Compatibility

Team Members: Kendall Saville, Savina Plougmann, Ibrahim Quagraine, Umu Salamta Jalloh
& Pamela Appiah

Team Mentors: Scott Beeman, PhD - SBHSE
Brent Vernon, PhD - SBHSE
Jon Plasencia, PhD - Phoenix Children’s Hospital

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/85047701683

Abstract

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations(AVMs) are abnormal connections between arteries in veins. There are between 7,640 and 11,460 cases of AVM in the United States every year and this number is expected to grow. Our problem is that when the heart fails, the body will want to try and redirect blood flow randomly. It creates Artery-Artery, Vein-Vein, Artery-to-Vein, or Vein-to-Artery shunting. The body creates these shunts for survival; however, they are somewhat random and can be problematic and require intervention. The current solution is a nickel/titanium coil/stent that is placed into the random growth to close it up; however, the nickel/titanium mixture can cause motion artifacts on MR and CT scans making the vessel of interest very difficult and even sometimes impossible to see. Liquid polymers are not ideal because if the shunting goes to the body, for example, the brain or the lungs, polymer migration could occur and it would be a huge risk for the patient as this can cause a stroke or other issues. RadioFake’s dominant product concept is a coil similar to what is used today but the device will be made out of a non-radiopaque material such as a fast swelling polymer and will be laced with a radiopaque material such as barium sulfate that will degrade into the body after a short period of time so the physician can monitor the coil with CT while inserting but the device will not degrade image quality for follow-up scans.