In reconstructive surgery, adjacent tissue is often stretched over a surgical wound or transplanted from a healthy site on the patient's body. Tissue flaps can fail and die and assessing their viability prior to failure is not possible. Failure is typically preceded by significant increases in tissue hydration. The goal of this research program is to develop novel submillimeter wave imaging technology that can generate clinically meaningful, water content-based contrast that predicts flap failure. The project integrates technology from submillimeter wave remote sensing, complex metamaterials, and machine learning and evaluates efficacy with pre-clinical trials. Further, collaboration between Aalto and University of Helsinki, Faculty of medicine will be established resulting in unique training opportunities for interdisciplinary science.

2020

2024