26596 Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a microinjection pump (MIP®) for pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC)
Begeleider(s): Mohammad Rahimi Gorji
Richtingen: Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, International Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Probleemstelling:

A recent and innovative drug delivery technique is called Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC), which was developed to treat patients with peritoneal metastasis (PM) using laparoscopy [1,2]. PIPAC has a minimally invasive approach and the feasibility of repeating the treatment several times, and can improve drug penetration in the tissue [3]. During PIPAC, a CO2 pneumoperitoneum is established (12-15 mmHg) to inflate the abdominal cavity. Then, a drug-containing solution is aerosolized within the inflated abdominal cavity by means of a microinjection pump (MIP®) in combination with a high-pressure injector to obtain a homogeneous aerosol distribution within the peritoneal cavity [4] (Figure 1).

There are several experimental works that demonstrated feasibility, safety and efficacy of PIPAC [6,7]. However, no studies focused on simulating and optimizing PIPAC by Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. CFD models decrease the time and costs compared to experimental models and have obtained a significant interest in the medical-engineering field  because of its non-invasive character.

Figure 1. Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) [5]

 


Doelstelling:

One of the most important parts of the equipment needed to perform the PIPAC technique is the microinjection pump (MIP®) which generates aerosol droplets (see also Fig. 1-2). It is a single fluid nozzle. Guhler et al. [4] investigated the characteristics and functional principle of the MIP® experimentally. They performed a number of ex vivo experiments to measure the size distribution of aerosol droplets during PIPAC. However, experiments are challenging or may not be feasible for extensive studies on evaluating the effect of different parameters, predicting the fluid behavior, and motivating new fields of research. In this context, CFD simulation methods have a great added value as they allow extensive sensitivity studies, eg to optimize the setup. Using CFD modeling, we can change different MIP® parameters such as the length of nozzle, diameter of the nozzle, diameter of the orifice and some other effective parameters. In this work, a numerical investigation of the fluid transport in the MIP® will be developed to analyze the effects of significant parameters using CFD. Also, the opportunities will be explored to optimize the characteristics of MIP® taking into account different circumstances.

At the end of this project, the following questions will be answered:

FIG. 2 Model of the nozzle head in 90 ° sectional view [4]

References

[1] Solass, W., et al. Surgical endoscopy, 2012, 26, 1849-1855.

[2] Solass, W. et al. Surgical endoscopy, 2012, 26, 847-852.

[3] Nadiradze G, et al. Cancers (Basel). 2019; 12 (1).

[4] Guhler, D et al., Surg. Endosc, 2016, 3: 1778-1784.

[5] Solass W et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2014, 21(2):553-9.

[6] Tempfer, C. B. et al. Gynecologic Oncology, 2014, 132, 307-311.

[7] Van De Sande, L. et al. Pleura and peritoneum, 2018, 3.