Interactive Application to Visualise the Use of the Fenestrated Anaconda AAA Stent Graft for the Treatment of Juxtarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a condition that affects the lower portion of the aorta; the major artery carrying blood from the thoracic region down to the rest of the body (British Heart Foundation, 2020).  If the aneurysm ruptures it requires immediate surgery to repair the aorta (British Heart Foundation, 2020). Custom-made devices for fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR), are now utilized on these patients that are at high risk for open repair surgery. Specialized stent grafts allow clinicians to accommodate specific vessels to insert custom devices where disease progression has occurred, higher up in the aorta (Davies, 2016). These fenestrations align with the branch vessels to enable the insertion of the branch stent thus providing perfusion to the renals, superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and coeliac artery. The Fenestrated Anaconda™ AAA Stent Graft (Terumo Aortic) provides all of these aforementioned features.

Rationale

It is difficult to visually communicate the customizable features of the Fenestrated Anaconda AAA Stent Graft to clinicians and exactly how this device provides better methods for treating FEVAR cases. An application containing a series of descriptive three-dimensional models and animations was created to increase clinicians’ understanding of specialised features and for public engagement at medical conferences in the future.

Objectives

1.     To design and develop anatomically accurate and photorealistic 3D models and animations corresponding to the surgical intervention for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

2.     To implement interactive paradigms through mobile visualisation that lets clinical specialists visualise how the stent graft is inserted into the abdominal aorta.

3.     To assess the anatomical accuracy of the models, the usability and informative value of the interactive development involving a reduced sample of participants from the current cohort of clinical specialists at Terumo Aortic.

Welcome to my thesis where I produced a 3D printed breast model. I examined the feasibility of using 3D printed moulds, constructed from clinical data, to create a haptically-accurate breast model. With breast cancer being the leading type of cancer among women worldwide and a rise in cases of women in Low-income counties, I sought to develop a Brest Self-Examination (BSE) tool for educating and empowering women about their breast health. This model is intended for women in Low-income countries where there is a lack of access to other early detection methods.

The pictured model contains a muscle, adipose, and mammary layer (differing in silicone densities). One T2 tumour is embedded in the model which is set upon a base containing rib structures. The entire structures is encapsulated in a silicone skin layer.

Please find samples of my other academic work in the additional video.

For more information visit the website below.

My thesis focused on creating a public health app on the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme.

The NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening programme aims to reduce the mortality associated with AAA spontaneously bursting. Mortality from an AAA rupture is significant at 85%, the screening programme is thought to reduce the deaths of the affected population by 50%. However, the uptake of AAA screening can be improved, as the public awareness of AAA screening is less in comparison to other screening programmes, specifically within certain groups of the population such as the economically deprived. mHealth apps have been successful in increasing the uptake of screening as well as increasing participants’ knowledge and awareness regarding other screening programmes.

The aim of this project was to develop a mobile app to assess public health awareness of the NHS AAA screening programme and to collect data on the enrolled cohort’s perceived usability of the app and their digital literacy.

As an Anatomy graduate, I was excited by the opportunity to enhance and develop my existing skills within the growing field of Medical Visualisation. This project has opened my eyes to what can be achieved for medical education with these new technologies.

The work presented here is the creation of a digital version of the board game ‘Operation’ for phone / tablet plaform.

By including augmented reality and further gamificaiton elements (these being elements from games like badges and trophies to make activities more fun and game-like), my project aimed to engage children with human anatomy and have fun while doing it.

It was important to me to ensure that this was more than just an exercise in coding and the development of my skills, but that it was also a fun and engaging learning tool for children. This meant placing the educational purpose at the heart of the design process.

There is already an obvious link to human anatomy in ‘Operation’ but let’s make it more educational with more anatomically correct information.

I designed and developed this appllicaiton with fun, colourful anatomical models and clear, bright UI to make a motivating and educational experience with a touch of humour.

My master’s project title:

Digitising Operation: Exploring the Use of Augmented Reality and Gamification Elements on Children’s Interest, Engagement and Motivation with Human Anatomy

The main aim of this project was to develop an AR application with gamification elements to raise interest in younger generations about human anatomy.

View biomedical illustration & instructional design work on oliviamayvisuals.com

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, 74% of healthcare professionals reported no formal training on infection control practises. Coupled with the unpredictable environment of the ambulance setting, it is natural and human for paramedics to subconsciously make mistakes when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) protocol. Although breaches in PPE protocol are common, such as touching the front of a face mask, it can be detrimental to the spread of infection.

The aim of What Not to Do With PPE was to design a potential education tool that could bring emerging technologies such as 3D, interactive content to the fore front of medical education and training. The development of this app hopes to have a real benefit for those using PPE on the front-line in ultimately raising awareness of how easily cross-contamination occurs, and the importance of it in not only stemming the spread of COVID-19, but infection control behaviour in general.

Within this page is my masters dissertation created for Terumo Aortic, as well as a few work examples from semester one.  For my dissertation, I worked with Terumo Aortic to create an interactive application to showcase the key features of their Relay proximal scalloped stent graft, and how it is utilized to in Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) surgeries to create a seal and exclude the aneurysm, while also allowing for profusion to the branch vessels. This application is intended to be shown to clinicians and other professionals at healthcare conferences.

Included within this page as well are two final projects created during semester one. One of which was a group project in which me and my partners created an educational game for student to learn DNA replication, and the other is a 3D model of the muscles and vessels of the arm, as well as a retopologized vertebrae bone.

Hello, I am Rohne Nyberg I am a digital artist and programmer earning my Master’s in Medical Visualization and Human Anatomy here at GSA. My work focuses on using the cutting edge technology of virtual, augmented and mixed reality to create applications and digital graphics for scientific and medical fields.