- Context
- Objective
- Context of the thesis
- PhD candidate profile
Heart diseases are still the leading cause of death in the world. Therefore any effort that tends to increase ischemic heart diseases (IHD) diagnosis accuracy in a non-invasive manner is susceptible to have a direct impact onto the patient care and decrease the health expenses. This is the ambition of the present project to improve the prognosis of IHD patients with a novel model based approach to assess the amount of mechanically active myocardium from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) acquisitions with an unprecedented accuracy. It is expected that such an achievement can lead to a considerable progress in the myocardial tissue characterization for those 20% of patients presenting post ischemic remodelling.
The objective of the project is to develop and evaluate a new model based approach and propose a new quantitative index, named myocardial fiber tonicity (MFT), characterizing the amount of active tension within the myocardium, for the improved assessment of the regional myocardial contractile status, and the prediction of the functional recovery of ischemic myocardium. MFT index results from the combination of state-of-the art cardiac strain measurements with a biomechanical parametric finite element (FE) model of the left ventricle. The approach will be demonstrated in 2D and 3D CMR imaging, Tagged CMR being considered as the reference for the assessment of the contractile function.
The developments will be experimented on selected data from 2 cohorts, a French national one, which consists following more than a thousand ischemic patients (irreversible injuries) over 8 years, and the MUST research project (Inserm, Région Rhone-Alpes) on the tracking of the evolution of transitory inflammation process in sportsmen after extreme efforts (trails, about 40 cases). Those unique dataset includes state-of-the-art multi-parametric CMR acquisitions together with biological measurements.
The project will be done in an exciting and stimulating environment since it is part of the European Training Network (ETN) VPH-CaSE financed by the European Commission. The ETN aims at training the European researchers of the future. The recruited PhD candidate will be exposed to the different sectors of biomedical research namely academia, industry and clinics. Three summer schools and closing conference will be organized in the different partner’s institutions with the aim of reinforcing the network and developing both the intellectual and human qualities of the PhD candidate.
PhD candidate profile should present a strong background in (bio)mechanics and scientific programming. Knowledge and experience in (medical) signal/image analysis would be appreciated. The candidate should have a strong motivation to work on a translational research project within a multi-disciplinary context. Mobility is mandatory since secondment periods in VPH-CaSE partner institutions are expected during the project.
Specific requirement: The candidates must not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date, and not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in that country.