John Abraham to Discuss Biomedical Research Projects at Next Cam Colloquium Wednesday

Dr. John Abraham, a professor of thermal sciences at the University of St. Thomas, will discuss the use of computational methods to solve biomedical problems in a talk at 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the 3M Auditorium of Owens Science Hall on the south campus of the University of St. Thomas.

Dr. John Abraham

Dr. John Abraham

The talk, free and open to the public, is the next event in the CAM (Center for Applied Mathematics) Colloquium series.

Abraham works in the field of energy generation, using wind power, as well as in the biomedical field, evaluating the safety of medical devices.

He will discuss six projects from the biomedical field:

  • A procedure called “orbital atherectomy” involves the removal of arterial plaque by a sanding action.  A consequence of sanding off plaque within the artery is that particulates are released which then pass downstream.  The investigation determined the trajectory of the particulates and evaluated whether they would accumulate on the artery wall or agglomerate together. 
  • Another simulation was for high-temperature tissue removal of the male prostate for the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia.  This treatment is an alternative of surgical removal of the prostate.
  • A third project is related to the removal of uterine fibroids by high-temperature gas injection that cauterizes the uterine lining. 
  • A fourth example is the modeling of blood flow in diseased and nondiseased arteries using pulsatile blood-flow patterns. 
  • Finally, Abraham will discuss a medical procedure called embolization. This uses small, injected particles that are introduced into an artery with the intention of blocking blood flow to tumors.