2017 A Novel Filter Design to Reduce Side Effects of Chemotherapy in Patients with Hepatic Cellular Carcinoma
Team: Leslie Leung, Adriane Ocampo, Nicholas Tjahjono, Tong Zhang
Client: Steven Hetts, MD, Associate Professor in Residence of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF and Teri Moore, IR Laboratory Manager, UCSF, San Francisco
Problem: In an emerging area of clinical medicine, endovascular catheter devices are being designed that enable chemotherapy delivery in a targeted manner, reducing patient side effects and improving treatment efficacy. However, some of the drugs enter the bloodstream, causing additional complications. Chemofiltration devices can extract chemotherapeutics from the bloodstream, preventing toxic drugs from leaving the tumor site. While promising, these devices suffer from a host of performance limitations.
Outcome: Students designed a novel filter to promote increased drug binding material interactions in life-saving chemotherapeutic filters.