Opportunities

Thank you for exploring career opportunities with the group Inorganic Functional Materials.

Master thesis “Characterization of novel thin film shape memory leaflets (stents) for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.”

Shape memory alloys have revolutionized treatment availability in the medical industry.
Their unique mechanical properties allow safe minimal invasive therapy instead of complex surgeries. Implants for treating brain aneurysms exemplify how shape memory alloys are used in abundance. Aneurysms are local dilations (balloon-like expansions) in blood vessels that can rupture and lead to death when left untreated. The current state-of-the-art solutions include treating brain aneurysms with braided flow diverter stents. But they have certain limitations in their use and thus, arise the requirement for new implants.
Implants fabricated using thin film technology benefit from superior mechanical properties and high design freedom. They allow engineers to reimagine the implant designs that cannot be realized using conventional fabrication techniques. In the current work, we are looking forward to investigating a novel thin film implant for its efficacy in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. The implants are fabricated via novel 2.5 D thin film technology using shape memory alloy materials.

The main tasks/challenges of the master thesis are:

• Shape setting of thin film implants as stents using rapid thermal annealing apparatus
• Investigating the transformation temperatures of the shape memory alloys using differential scanning calorimetry
• Optical microscopy investigations to understand the stent coverage when placed in 3D printed blood vessels
• Mechanical investigations to understand the circumferential radial and bending force of the implants

If you are willing to work in a challenging environment and like to solve complex problems, then this master thesis suits you. You will have the opportunity to work in the Kiel Nanolabor as part of the master thesis.

If interested, please contact:
Prasanth Velvaluri (prav@tf.uni-kiel.de),

Prof. Dr. -Ing. Eckhard Quandt,
Inorganic functional materials.