PhD in Applied Maths

Flow disturbances in blood flow are a vital sign of cardiovascular diseases, suggesting a development of turbulent flow due to abnormal heart movement or blocking of the arteries. In recent years, time-resolved Magnetic Resonance Imaging (4D MRI) technique has been developed to detect flow turbulence where the Doppler ultrasound technique does not give reliable diagnosis due to the complexity of the diseases. Since the 4D MRI allows the analysis of complex and unsteady flow patterns deep in the human body, it is suitable for the visualisation and analysis of valvular heart disease or atherosclerosis. However, the clinical decision-making in the use of 4D MRI is restricted only to special cases due partly to the long scanning time required, and partly to the inaccuracy of turbulence measurements. These are the main issues the proposed PhD study will address. The research work will be conducted by using a vascular flow phantom, guiding the MRI scanning strategy to improve the turbulence detection and quantification. The flow turbulence and velocity in a vascular flow phantom will be measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), against which MRI data will be compared and calibrated. In-silico technique based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will also be developed to provide further information necessary for the development of new MRI image scanning strategies. Interdisciplinary research supervision team: Professor Kwing-So Choi; Professor Penny Gowland. The Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre at the University of Nottingham is a leading international centre for the development of medical imaging, particularly MRI.