About the project
In conventional aortic valve (AV) surgery, valve-preserving procedures for the treatment of severe aortic valve insufficiency are currently performed only by highly experienced cardiac surgeons. To date, intraoperative quality control of surgical outcomes has relied exclusively on manual instruments. These intraoperative assessment methods are inaccurate and can therefore lead to incorrect decisions. This, in turn, results in unnecessarily high mortality and morbidity rates for these surgical procedures. In aortic valve replacement procedures, there is also an increased long-term mortality risk as a result of the use of manual tools to determine the appropriate aortic valve prosthesis. Similarly, during resection of the ascending aorta (AA) due to an acute aortic aneurysm, inadequate intraoperative testing procedures can lead to functional impairment of the aortic valve.
In the IDA collaborative project, a demonstrator for intraoperative digital aortography (IDA) is being researched and tested in preclinical trials. There will be two hardware variants: the Pressure and Imaging Unit (PIU-1) enables precise measurement of the aortic valve under simulated diastolic pressure conditions with the heart at rest through the combined use of pressure and 3D imaging sensors. This results in a reliable pressure test of the repaired aortic valve under natural blood pressure conditions, thereby enabling a reliable assessment of the valve’s integrity and the success of the surgery. The use of the PIU-2 ensures optimal prosthesis selection in conventional aortic valve replacement procedures.
In its subproject, Fachhochschule Dortmund is researching AI-based image recognition methods for the automatic detection of characteristic, medically relevant measurement points on aortic valves. With the results obtained, Klavant will be able to perform intraoperative measurements of aortic valves using optical 3D measurement techniques, thereby significantly increasing the success rate of aortic valve surgery.
Die Fachhochschule Dortmund will auch die Erkenntnisse und Algorithmen vom Subprojekt in ihre forschungsorientierte Lehre einfließen lassen, wodurch der notwendige Wissenstransfer gewährleistet wird.