Projects
Translational research into novel therapies for pelvic floor disorders KU Leuven
Pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and genitourinary syndrome of the menopause (GSM) decrease the quality of life of many women. The mainstay of therapy for POP is a surgical correction, either using native tissues or substitutes, usually referred to as mesh. Surgery may however cause complications, in particular when using mesh. The recommended treatment of GSM is hormonal replacement, yet many patients do not ...
Understanding and modulating primary graft dysfunction following lung transplantation KU Leuven
The success of lung transplantation (LTx) is hampered by cytotoxic and immunological effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) on lung allografts causing primary graft dysfunction (PGD). During the window between organ procurement and LTx, ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) offers the opportunity for lung graft modulation (LGM) that targets IRI and reduces PGD. We aim to assess the effect of biological and genetic LGM on PGD through analysis of ...
Assessment of Thermal Effect of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field in Biological Tissues KU Leuven
Through 5,000 years of practice, physicians, surgeons, or people in general have utilized thermal therapy or “thermotherapies” to treat mass lesions now known as cancer. The methods have changed drastically over this time span and certainly, the techniques have improved the efficacy and safety. The hyperthermic therapy is usually a local or regional treatment for most cancer patients. There are multiple forms or methods of hyperthermic ...
Research into the role and mechanism of caspase-7 in immunomodulation and in immunopathologies Ghent University
Recent experimental data within our unit suggests a differential role for caspase-3 and -7. Conditional caspase-7 deficient mice were generated to be able to further investigate these findings. These mice will be used in certain murine experimental pathology models (EAE, I/R) and derived cells will be used for ex-vivo experiments to clarify the non-redundant role of caspase-7.
In-vivo proof of concept of microbubbles based non-invasive dosimetry for radiotherapy treatment. KU Leuven
Cancer remains a major public health problem in the world which necessitates the need for further technological innovation towards effective treatment strategies. Next to surgery and chemotherapy, an important treatment option is radiotherapy in which tumor cells are destroyed by ionizing radiation. Although modern radio therapeutic treatment strategies have become very efficient by reducing radiation to adjacent (healthy) tissue whenever ...
Ultrasound Waves Based Body Area Networks KU Leuven
Implanted or ingested medical devices aid in the localized diagnosis or treatment of several major diseases. For example, the cochlear implant stimulates an electrode in your cochlea, or the endoscopic pill visualizes the internals of your digestive tract. These medical devices typically include a wireless in-body communication link to enable remote monitoring, configuration, and control. This communication link needs careful optimization to ...
Predicting chemoradiation response for gastrointestinal cancer patients using patient-derived tumor organoids. University of Antwerp
"Dosimetry aspects of recoiling daughter nuclides of 225-Actinium in Targeted Alpha Therapy" KU Leuven
Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRNT) is a promising treatment for disseminated and metastatic diseases using a targeting agent labeled with a radionuclide delivering a toxic level of radiation to a specific site. DOTATATE labeled with beta-emitter radionuclides has been widely used in the clinic for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), mostly in the form of 177Lu-DOTATATE to treat neuroendocrine tumors. In this context, 68Ga-DOTATATE ...
Seismology in the human body: exploring supersonic shear wave imaging for the assessment of arterial stiffness. Ghent University
Supersonic Shear wave Imaging (SSI) is used to characterize elasticity of soft tissues by generating and detecting shear waves (SW). SSI has proven successful for cancer diagnosis in breast and liver. Application of SSI to arterial walls is challenging due to complex SW propagation phenomena related to anisotropy and geometry of arteries. The project goal is to study SW physics in arteries by means of computer, in-vitro and ex-vivo ...