| Ref.No: | 68165200 |
| Start date: | 22.09.2023 |
| End date: | 01.12.2025 |
| Approval date: | 22.09.2023 |
| Department: | ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING |
| Sector: | INFORMATION TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS AND MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY |
| Financier: | ΕΛΛΑΔΑ 2.0-ΤΑΜΕΙΟ ΑΝΑΚΑΜΨΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΘΕΚΤΙΚΟΤΗΤΑΣ, G.G.E.K. |
| Budget: | 969.959,10 € |
| Public key: | ΨΞΤΞ46ΨΖΣ4-88Λ |
| Scientific Responsible: | Prof. MATSOPOULOS |
| Email: | gmatso@esd.ece.ntua.gr |
| Description: | THE ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM (AAA) IS DEFINED AS THE PERMANENT LOCALIZED DILATION THAT EXCEEDS 50% OF THE NORMAL DIAMETER (>3 CM). THE PRIMARY COMPLICATION OF AAAS IS RUPTURE, WHICH IS THE 13TH MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEATH AND THE 3RD MOST COMMON CAUSE OF SUDDEN DEATH IN THE WESTERN WORLD, FOLLOWING ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AND STROKE. DESPITE ADVANCES IN MEDICINE, MORTALITY RATES FROM AAA RUPTURE HAVE REMAINED VERY HIGH, REACHING 80-90% OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS. FOR MEN OVER 65 AND WOMEN IN HIGH-RISK GROUPS, SYSTEMATIC MONITORING THROUGH IMAGING EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DETECTION OF POSSIBLE AAAS IS RECOMMENDED. EXISTING GUIDELINES FOR THE INTERVENTIONAL MANAGEMENT OF AN AAA ARE BASED ON TWO CRITERIA: 1) THE MAXIMUM DIAMETER, WITH A CRITICAL VALUE OF 5.5 CM FOR MEN AND 5.0 CM FOR WOMEN, AND 2) THE ANNUAL RATE OF DIAMETER INCREASE. THE MAXIMUM DIAMETER CRITERION IS PARTLY BASED ON LAPLACE'S LAW, WHICH, HOWEVER, ONLY APPLIES TO IDEALIZED VESSEL SHAPES AND DOES NOT APPLY TO COMPLEX ANATOMICAL STRUCTURES. THE REVOLUTION IN COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES, IN THE PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL IMAGES, AS WELL AS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MODELING AND SIMULATION, HAS SIGNIFICANTLY BOOSTED AAA RESEARCH BY IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL PREDICTIVE FACTORS THAT CAN BE CALCULATED NON-INVASIVELY. THESE FACTORS INCLUDE GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS BEYOND THE MAXIMUM AAA DIAMETER, HEMODYNAMIC INDICES, AS WELL AS BIOMECHANICAL INDICES. TODAY, WITH THE ADVENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), IT IS POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP NEW ALGORITHMS THAT CAN PREDICT THE DISEASE'S PROGRESSION. HOWEVER, THE LACK OF ORGANIZED AND ACCESSIBLE DATABASES RELATED TO AAAS HINDERS MOST EFFORTS. THE MOTIVATION FOR THE PROPOSED SAFE-AORTA PROJECT IS THE GAP IN ASSESSING THE RISK OF RAPID EXPANSION AND RUPTURE OF AAA. IT'S CLEAR THAT THE RENEWAL AND PERSONALIZATION OF INTERVENTION CRITERIA CANNOT RELY ON INDIVIDUAL STUDIES. A RADICAL UPGRADE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH AAAS IS REQUIRED. IN THIS DIRECTION, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOP TOOLS THAT FACILITATE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS, AS WELL AS THE COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT, AND ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL DATA. THE MAIN GOAL OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL SAFE-AORTA IS TO DEVELOP A CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (CDSS) FOR THE ACCURATE PREDICTION OF THE MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION AND THE RUPTURE PROBABILITY OF AAAS. |
