BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:dc5bca88ea53867f768654d44b6b05f1 DTSTAMP:20260615T044233Z SUMMARY:The wonders and complexities of brain microstructure: Enabling biom edical engineering studies combining imaging and models DESCRIPTION:View the seminar recording here (Imperial College members only ) or contact k.hobson@imperial.ac.uk to request access.\nCentre for Neur otechnology seminar from Daniele Dini\nProfessor in Tribology\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, Imperial College London\nThe wonders and comp lexities of brain microstructure: Enabling biomedical engineering studies combining imaging and models\nAbstract: Brain microstructure plays a key role in driving the transport of drug molecules directly administered to t he brain tissue as in Convection-Enhanced Delivery procedures. This study reports the first systematic attempt to characterize the cytoarchitecture of commissural\, long association and projection fiber\, namely: the corpu s callosum\, the fornix and the corona radiata. Ovine samples from three d ifferent subjects have been imaged using scanning electron microscope comb ined with focused ion beam milling. Particular focus has been given to the axons. For each tract\, a 3D reconstruction of relatively large volumes ( including a significant number of axons) has been performed. Namely\, oute r axonal ellipticity\, outer axonal cross-sectional area and its relative perimeter have been measured. This study [1] provides useful insight into the fibrous organization of the tissue that can be described as composite material presenting elliptical tortuous tubular fibers\, leading to a work flow to enable accurate simulations of drug delivery which include well-re solved microstructural features.  As a demonstration of the use of these imaging and reconstruction techniques\, our research analyses the hydrauli c permeability of two white matter (WM) areas (corpus callosum and fornix) whose three-dimensional microstructure was reconstructed starting from th e acquisition of the electron microscopy images. Considering that the whit e matter structure is mainly composed of elongated and parallel axons we c omputed the permeability along the parallel and perpendicular directions u sing computational fluid dynamics [2]. The results show a statistically si gnificant difference between parallel and perpendicular permeability\, wit h a ratio about 2 in both the white matter structures analysed\, thus demo nstrating their anisotropic behaviour. This is in line with the experiment al results obtained using perfusion of brain matter [3]. Moreover\, we fin d a significant difference between permeability in corpus callosum and for nix\, which suggests that also the white matter heterogeneity should be co nsidered when modelling drug transport in the brain. Our findings\, that d emonstrate and quantify the anisotropic and heterogeneous character of the white matter\, represent a fundamental contribution not only for drug del ivery modelling but also for shedding light on the interstitial transport mechanisms in the extracellular space. These and many other discoveries wi ll be discussed during the talk.\n\nhttps://www.researchsquare.com/article /rs-686577/v1\nhttps://www.pnas.org/content/118/36/e2105328118\nhttps://ie eexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9198110\n\n\nBio: Professor Daniele Di ni is an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Establ ished Career Fellow and Head of Imperial College London’s Tribology Grou p. Prior to joining Imperial College in 2006\, Professor Dini completed hi s D.Phil. in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Ox ford (2004). His individual research portfolio supports a large team of re searchers focused on studies related to the modelling of surface and inter faces\, materials\, and various multiscale and multiphysics problems in so ft matter and applied mechanics.  Most of these projects are multidiscipl inary and range from atomic and molecular simulation of friction\, lubrica tion\, interfaces and surfaces to the biomechanics of soft tissues\, inclu ding articular cartilage and brain. Of particular interest for this talk i s the work performed by his group and collaborators as part of collaborati ve EU projects (ACTIVE\, http://www.active-fp7.eu/ and EDEN2020\, https:// www.eden2020.eu/) to shed light on the mechanics of brain and\, more speci fically\, on the behavior of this extremely soft tissue across the scales. The work has explored the link of these investigations to the optimizatio n of convection-enhanced drug delivery procedures to be ideally performed via steerable needles using robotic control.\n\nThe seminar will take plac e via Microsoft Teams. Advance registration is required. A link and instru ctions on how to access the event are provided in your registration confir mation email and a reminder will be sent before the event.\nThe seminar/Q& A will run from 1200-1300 and will be followed by an optional 30 minutes ’ informal discussion with the speaker. \nThere is no need to download the Microsoft Teams app if accessing the seminar via desktop or laptop as you can join via a browser\, however if using a mobile device\, you will need to download the Teams app in advance. URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/141202/centre-for-neurotech-seminar-d aniele-dini/ DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20211123T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20211123T130000 LOCATION:United Kingdom END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20211123T120000 TZNAME:GMT TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR