Dr. Chung-Hao Lee and Dr. Yingtao Liu have received an award from the Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. It is a $45,000 award from the State of Oklahoma for the research project titled “(HR) Novel Shape Memory Polymer Devices for Optimal Endovascular Embolization of Intracranial Aneurysms.”

The collaborative team for this interdisciplinary research has been established among bioengineer Dr. Chung-Hao Lee, material scientist Dr. Yingtao Liu, and neurosurgeon Dr. Bradley Bohnstedt (OUHSC), as well as student researchers in various engineering disciplines of the Gallogly College of Engineering. This project is currently supported by the 2017 Gallogly SEED Funding for Interdisciplinary Research, Faculty Investment Program (FIP) sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Pilot Research Program from the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources (OSCTR).

The project is the development of a novel medical device for surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms. Incidental rupture of an intracranial aneurysm results in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), which causes about 10% of an individual’s death before reaching medical attention. The overall objective of this research project is to identify objective hemodynamic and biomechanical criteria derived from predictive computer simulations for designing embolic devices and to develop the prototypes of embolic devices using aliphatic urethane shape memory polymers (SMPs), which possess excellent shape memory property, as a novel therapeutic technique for patient-specific endovascular embolization of intracranial aneurysms. The developed SMP foam-based embolic devices are expected to achieve short preparation time, optimal complete occlusion, and a significantly reduced rate of aneurysm recurrence. The development of such innovative technologies is expected to be beneficial to the healthcare of Americans with a stroke history and will dramatically reduce the corresponding in-hospital expenditure.