IMPPACT will develop a physiological model of the liver and simulate the intervention's result, accounting for patient specific physiological factors. Gaps in the understanding of particular aspects of the RFA treatment will be closed by multi-scale studies on cells and animals. New findings will be evaluated microscopically and transformed into macroscopic equations. The long-established bio-heat equation will be extended to incorporate multiple scales. Validation will be performed at multiple levels. Images from ongoing patient treatment will be used to cross check validity for human physiology. Final validation will be performed at macroscopic level through visual comparison of simulation and treatment results gathered in animal studies and during patient treatment.

This extensive validation together with a user-centred software design approach will guarantee suitability of the solution for clinical practice. The consortium consists of two Hospitals, three Universities, one Research Institute and one industrial SME. The final project deliverables will be the patient specific intervention planning system and an augmented reality training simulator for the RFA intervention.

For further information, please visit:
http://imppact.icg.tugraz.at/

Project co-ordinator:
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. (Germany)

Partners:

• NUMA Engineering Services Ltd (Ireland)
• Universität Leipzig (Germany)
• Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
• Medizinische Universität Graz (Austria)
• TKK - Teknillinen korkeakoulu (Finland)
• Technische Universität Graz (Austria)

Timetable: from 09/2008 - to 08/2011

Total cost: € 4.550.000

EC funding: € 3.460.000

Programme Acronym: FP7-ICT

Subprogramme Area: Virtual physiological human

Contract type: Collaborative project (generic)