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in silico, in vivo, and in vitro CSF experiments. Laser Doppler vibrometry surface motion analysis of an in vitro spinal cord model (left), in vivo MR pulse wave velocity measurement in the spinal canal (center), and an in vitro cerebrospinal fluid system model (right).

Welcome

The Neurohydrodynamics and Medical Technology Lab (NMTL) is led by Dr. Bryn Martin in conjunction with the Laboratory of Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Technology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and collaborating institutions. We investigate the pathophysiology of craniospinal and cerebrovascular disorders from a hydrodynamic and biomechanical perspective and develop related medical technologies.

Purpose

The purpose of neurohydrodynamics.com is to:

1. foster collaboration and discussion between medical doctors and engineers
2. provide in vivo and in vitro experimental data for improving modeling capabilities
3. increase interest in heurohydrodynamic disorder research

What is neurohydrodynamics?

Neurohydrodynamics is a division of neural engineering that focuses on the hydrodynamics of the neurological system. It applies engineering principles and design concepts to neuroengineering seeking to close the gap between fluid mechanics and neurosurgical and neurological medicine. It combines fluid mechanics principles with neuroscience to improve neurological disorder healthcare in terms of medical diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy.

Key words: Neurohydrodynamics, cerebrospinal fluid, craniospinal disorders, chiari malformation, syringomyelia, hydrocephalus, neural drug delivery, spinal cord blood flow, cerebral blood flow, cerebral perfusion and autoregulation, sleep disorders, sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure, computational fluid dynamics, MRI, 4DMRI and pcMRI, neuroengineering, neuroscience, biofluid mechanics, neuroscience, neuroengineering, medical technology, neuromonitoring.

Research areas

Ongoing research projects at the Laboratory of Neurohydrodynamics and Medical Technology (NMTL).

Please click on the links below to learn more about the current, available, and past research projects at the NMTL.

• Current projects
• Available projects for M.S. or B.S. students
• Past projects

The NMTL's research includes in vivo, in vitro, and in silico studies that are conducted closely with medical collaborators and can be divided into projects involving 1) clinical tools and measurements and 2) modeling (see figure below). The names adjacent to each box in the figure indicate key collaborators involved with each project. For a complete list of collaborators click here.

We are currently involved in the following research areas:

Clinical tools and measurements

• Intraoperative aortic graft hemodynamics
• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP): influence on the cardiovascular and cerebrospinal fluid system
• 4D MRI in craniospinal disorders
• 4D MRI in cerebral blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid hydrodynamics
• Cerebrospinal fluid pulse wave velocity in craniospinal disorders

Modeling

• Coupled cardiovascular and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system
• Hydrocephalus
• Spinal cord blood flow
• Aortic graft hemodynamics
• Cerebrospinal fluid: in vitro and computational fluid dynamics models

External links

• Take a moment to visit the NMTL Youtube channel to see some videos of our work [1].
• Click here for external links to related laboratories, conferences, and organizations.