Abstract

Endocrine surgeons at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center have requested a device that will aid in the identification of perfused parathyroid tissue over poorly perfused parathyroid tissue.  If a parathyroid gland’s perfusion source is damaged during surgical operation, it may become unperfused and lose parathyroid function, specifically bodily calcium homeostasis; moreover, in such a situation the parathyroid is minced and reimplanted in the sternocleidomastoid muscle.  Consequently, physicians have a need for quantification of the perfusion of parathyroid gland.  To address this clinical need, a team of senior undergraduate biomedical engineering students will design and build a device to quantify the perfusion of parathyroid tissue in order to replace the subjective visual method currently employed.  The team members are Gabrielle Caires de Jesus, Tianhang Lu, Itamar Shapira, James Tatum, and Yu Zhou.  The advisors for this project are Dr. Matthew Walker III, Dr. Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, and PhD student Melanie McWade.  The overall objectives for this project are as follows:

●       Consider and assess several imaging techniques to determine parathyroid tissue perfusion and to select an optimal technique for use in a clinically useful device.

●       Implement optimal imaging technique in a sterilizable, clinically safe, and rapidly analyzing device adapted to use by surgeons in situ.  Ideal implementation of the technique will result in a modular device easily integrated into the existing fluoroscopy instrumentation.

●       Establishing proof of concept (POC) with ex vivo animal testing and preliminary clinical trials and creating documentation to encourage further licensure agreement with Anasys Instruments.

The success of the project will be based off our device’s ability to determine parathyroid perfusion in a clinical setting.

Full text PDF:

11/6/2013:NCIIA Grant Proposal

11/17/2013: NCIIA Grant Proposal Final_11_17_2013