March 13, 2024 Faculty Focus: Alejandro Roldán-Alzate Written By: Caitlin Scott Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Faculty|Research Associate Professor Alejandro Roldán-Alzate is appointed in Mechanical Engineering and the UW Department of Radiology. He directs the UW Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics Laboratory which focuses its research on fluid dynamics analysis of physiological and pathological flows using a combination of medical imaging, additive manufacturing and computational fluid dynamics. Their main lines of research include: medical image-based patient-specific computational fluid dynamics, patient-specific surgical planning using medical images, 3D printing and computational fluid dynamics and hemodynamic analysis of cardiovascular pathologies using 4D flow MRI. View Prof. Roldán-Alzate’s faculty research video feature >> Mechanical Engineering Research – Alejandro Roldán-Alzate Close Video IN TECHNICAL TERMS What one project are you most excited about working on right now? Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among aging men. Multichannel urodynamics (UDS) is the most common diagnostic method used to assess BPH/LUTS. UDS require invasive catheterization to assess pressure-flow relations. Moreover, UDS does not provide sufficient information on bladder/urethra biomechanics. Medical imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound (US) reveal anatomical features not evident from UDS, but on their own do not provide flow or pressure information on the lower urinary tract. The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a non-invasive computational methodology for the simulation of urinary flow inside bladder and urethra by coupling dynamic medical imaging (US and MRI) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). What do you think the impact will be on tech and society? This non-invasive approach is a game-changer. It will bring the diagnostic capability to virtually every urologist’s office using equipment that is already in their possession. This will translate to better urologic care for thousands of men and, importantly, it will level the playing field of treatment outcomes for patients. Learn more via Prof. Roldán-Alzate’s lab website.