Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Mechanical instability and tortuosity of arteries: theory and applications

Hai-Chao Han, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Abstract

The mechanical stability of blood vessels is important for maintaining normal blood flow and vascular function. This talk will summarize our recent work on the buckling of arteries under various loads, including both the theoretical models and experimental results. We propose that mechanical buckling could be a possible mechanism in the development of tortuous blood vessels which is associated with aging, hypertension and degenerative diseases in many patients. Bio: Dr. Han is the Zachry Endowed Chair Professor and Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He received his Ph.D. degree in Solid Mechanics/Biomechanics in 1991 from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China with joint training from the University of California at San Diego under the tutelage of Professor YC Fung. Dr. Han was an Associate Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University and a Research Engineer II at Georgia Institute of Technology before joining UTSA in 2003. Dr. Han’s research interests are in the area of cardiovascular biomechanics with focus on arterial wall mechanical and instability, cardiac mechanics, and tissue remodeling. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers. He received a CAREER award from NSF in 2007. He is a Fellow of American Heart Association (AHA), College of Fellows of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering and the editorial board of a number of journals.