Pitt Engineering PhD Students Present Revolutionary Medical Devices at SPIE Conference

Mohamed Ibrahim and Vahid Seresht, two PhD students in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Industrial Engineering, put the heart and nervous system at the center of their work. 

Both received the SPIE Smart Structures and NDE Student Travel Grant Award and presented their latest research at the March SPIE Conference in British Columbia. 

Mohamed Ibrahim 

Ibrahim delivered an oral presentation on his latest research endeavor, “A Novel In-situ Hemocompatibility Enhancement in Endovascular Devices through Arterial Pulsation-Driven Surface Modification.” 

This patented research is a collaborative effort between Researcher Assistant Professor Sang-Ho Ye in the Department of Bioengineering and Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Chemical Engineering, and Bioengineering William R. Wagner at Pitt. 

“The goal is to pioneer a revolutionary method to enhance the hemocompatibility of endovascular devices – particularly cardiovascular stents – and mitigate the risk of thrombosis long term after the interventional procedure of stents,” Ibrahim said. 

Ibrahim’s work is sponsored by the American Heart Association. 

Vahid Seresht 

Seresht presented a technique on the low-profile deployable and retrievable epidural lead array system during his poster session. He collaborated with Trent Emerick and Gaurav Chauhan at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. 

“This new approach to make the spinal cord stimulator device fully collapsible and deployable effectively prevents potential device dislocation and migration, while providing a larger surface area for minimally invasive pain management,” Seresht said. 

Seresht’s work is being supported by the Center of Medical Innovation (CMI) at Pitt.