| Affiliations: | Michael E. DeBakey Institute Undergraduate Research Program |
| Project Leader: | Ifeanyi Anyhoa ifeanyia@tamu.edu |
| Faculty Mentor: | Christopher Quick, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Summer 2016 (complete) |
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Participants will gain an appreciation for clinically-relevant systemic physiology, and significant contributions will earn co-authorship of a manuscript for publication. |
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Team Needs:
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Description:
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The Fontan Procedure is a palliative surgical procedure for infants born with a dysfunctional ventricle. It allows for the pulmonary and systemic circulation to be sustained by the functional ventricle. Patients who undergo this procedure eventually suffer from inappropriate adaptive responses and have limited options for medical treatment. Investigators have tried to develop an animal model to study the Fontan circulation, but these models are unable to mimic human hemodynamic conditions. Others have developed mathematical models, but the results obtained are difficult to interpret. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to develop a simple algebraic model to predict critical hemodynamic parameters in Fontan patients, and to identify novel treatment options. |