We are pleased to announce that Dr Raoul van Loon, Associate Professor at Swansea University, will visit the Insigneo Institute and give a talk on 'Identifying new classifiers for pre-eclampsia through personalised computational network models of the pregnant cardiovascular system' on Friday 25 November 2022 at 11:00. This will be a hybrid event.

Abstract

The role of Doppler waveforms in the uterine arteries for clinical decision making has been explored by many research groups over the years. Various indices have been developed based on these waveforms that are used as indicators for poor placental development. However, these indices are still not well understood. Furthermore, the effect of the larger maternal circulation on the local utero-ovarian waveforms is not clear.

Computational models have been developed that describe the flow and pressures throughout the pregnant maternal cardiovascular system. Personalisation is achieved by integrating non-invasive data such as heart rate, cardiac output, peripheral resistance, systolic & diastolic blood pressure, aorta size, pulse wave velocity and uterine Doppler waveforms are integrated into these models. The resulting patient-specific models are then used to seek improved classifiers of pre-eclampsia through machine learning techniques.

Brief Biography

Dr Raoul van Loon currently leads a research team on computational biomedical modelling in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Swansea University. 

Raoul did his BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology graduating in the group of Prof. Frank Baaijens. After that, he started his PhD in the Bioengineering department in the group of Prof. Frans van de Vosse working on the development of a fluid-structure interaction method for heart valve modelling. As a Marie Curie fellow, Raoul started work in the group of Spencer Sherwin in the Aeronautics Department at Imperial College London, focused on a further development and understanding of numerical techniques and models concerning the fluid-structure interaction of heart valves.

Raoul's current interests are in the use and development of computational methods to understand human physiology for diagnostic and treatment planning purposes. Current projects he's working on are focused around the lymphatic, cardiovascular and respiratory systems and on the development of novel medical devices. The challenges regarding the integration of real-life data into models is key in his work and as a result most projects are in close collaboration with clinicians, industrialists and experimental colleagues. 

Read more about Dr van Loon