We are pleased to announce that Dr Finbar Argus from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute will give a talk on 'Prediction of main pulmonary artery pressure following pulmonary endarterectomy using a digital twin' on Thursday, 14 December 2023 at 15:00.

Abstract:
Pulmonary Endarterectomy (PEA) is a common treatment for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), however, the efficacy of the treatment is variable due to disease severity, heart condition, pulmonary heterogeneity, and patient specific autonomic nervous system (ANS) dynamics. Obtaining an estimate of the decrease in main pulmonary artery pressure due to surgery would better inform clinicians and aid them in deciding the optimal treatment strategy.

CTPA data was used to generate a patient-specific model of pulmonary blood flow, and this was coupled to a closed loop circulatory system model calibrated to clinical measurements of echocardiogram volume, ECG RR intervals, and brachial-cuff pressure. After estimation of the amount of remodelling due to the blood clot, the clot was removed in the coupled model. The model was then simulated to give predictions of post-operative main pulmonary artery pressure.

Model-based prediction of the response to treatment has the potential to reduce inter- and intra-clinician variability and improve patient care by optimising treatment selection. This approach takes into account patient specific pulmonary, cardiovascular, and ANS dynamics to give a clinically useful prediction of post-PEA main pulmonary artery pressure.

Biography:
Finbar Argus is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. His research focuses on modelling the autonomic nervous system control of the cardiovascular system and calibrating physiological models of coupled organ systems to patient data.

He is currently a visiting academic in the Paterson Group and the Simões Group at The University of Oxford, working on developing and calibrating computational models for autonomic nervous system control of the heart. The aim of this project is to advance patient-specific digital twins and optimise treatment of patients with arrhythmia.

He will return to the Auckland Bioengineering Institute in mid 2024 to advance the work he is doing with the Animus Lab and the 12 Labours EP1 and P1 groups.

He completed his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Canterbury in 2016 and his PhD in bioengineering at the University of Auckland in 2022.