Project number
25060
Organization
UA Department of Biomedical Engineering
Offering
ENGR498-F2024-S2025
Surgical repair of spinal cord injury after traumatic or complete spinal cord injury can be significantly improved by hypothermia of the the spinal cord.
Lowering temperature slows metabolism, decreases cellular stress and inflammation and prevents edema. Typically the temperature is lowered to 33 degrees C for 5-6 hours for a modest hypothermia.
This project shall design a device capable of reducing spinal cord temperature by 6 degrees C for 5-6 hours for a moderate hypothermia.
After successful treatment, the device shall progressively rewarm the cord to 37C at 1 degree C per hour.
The engineering team shall design a physical thermodynamic model simulating human body and spinal cord to resemble physiologic temperature and flow conditions.
The team shall create thermal load and fluid dynamic analyses to determine the required flow of the cooling of the spinal fluid.
The team shall investigate existing catheterization and hypothermia equipment and design a system to achieve the required temperature and temperature gradients.
In additional to cooling and warming of spinal fluid, the system shall measure temperature in situ.
Luis A. Robles MD, John Hurlbert. MD, Pilitsis Julie MD , University of Arizona Spine Program, Division of Neurosurgery. Banner University Medical Center, Tucson Arizona
Lowering temperature slows metabolism, decreases cellular stress and inflammation and prevents edema. Typically the temperature is lowered to 33 degrees C for 5-6 hours for a modest hypothermia.
This project shall design a device capable of reducing spinal cord temperature by 6 degrees C for 5-6 hours for a moderate hypothermia.
After successful treatment, the device shall progressively rewarm the cord to 37C at 1 degree C per hour.
The engineering team shall design a physical thermodynamic model simulating human body and spinal cord to resemble physiologic temperature and flow conditions.
The team shall create thermal load and fluid dynamic analyses to determine the required flow of the cooling of the spinal fluid.
The team shall investigate existing catheterization and hypothermia equipment and design a system to achieve the required temperature and temperature gradients.
In additional to cooling and warming of spinal fluid, the system shall measure temperature in situ.
Luis A. Robles MD, John Hurlbert. MD, Pilitsis Julie MD , University of Arizona Spine Program, Division of Neurosurgery. Banner University Medical Center, Tucson Arizona