UTSA engineer looks to save lives with $1.8 million NIH grant
Ender Finol works with students in his laboratory

Ender Finol works with students in his laboratory
(June 15, 2015) -- Medically speaking, an aneurysm can be a time bomb. Ender Finol, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UTSA, wants to make them a little more predictable.
“It’s a medical problem,” he said. “But it’s something I can make a contribution to as an engineer.”
Finol has just received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a method to determine whether a patient with an aortic aneurysm needs surgery right away. Although in the mainstream “aneurysm” tends to mean a blood vessel bursting in the brain and causing sudden death, it’s actually more complicated than that.
Firstly, people with aortic aneurysms don’t know they have them unless a doctor discovers one by accident or it ruptures. In the latter case, there’s about an 80 percent fatality rate. If the aneurysm is discovered before it ruptures, the patient is put under observation. Doctors wait until the aneurysm grows to about five cm in diameter, then recommend surgery.
However, this isn’t always necessary, and it could be costing lives.
“I believe there’s a good segment of the population that’s getting unnecessary, early surgery,” Finol said. “Most of these people have other diseases, so the complications from surgery could harm them more, or they might not even survive long enough before the aneurysm ruptures.”
His solution is a portable device, most likely a computer tool on a laptop, with a database that he’s currently developing. Surgeons would upload medical images of the aneurysm, and the computer would respond by determining whether surgery is necessary in the near future.
The tool will be validated with magnetic resonance images of a silicon replica of an aorta that will help Finol mimic the blood flow through a real aorta.
His work begins this summer.
Learn more about Biomedical Engineering at UTSA
Connect online with UTSA on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Events
Tour the new Blackboard homepage, navigation, and features for the upcoming semester. The agenda includes an Introduction to Blackboard Cloud, a tour of the new Blackboard homepage and navigation; review improvements to course management, and a question and answer session.
Virtual EventHelp us welcome back Campus Recreation with our VIP Day. Sign up for your social-distanced tour where you will get to experience some of the incredible programs and offerings we are bringing you this semester.
Recreation Center, Main CampusThe Welcome Back Social is a great way to meet new people and make new friends. You can also win some prizes! Playfair is a high-spirited, high-energy event that allows students to interact with each other and laugh with each other and feel a part of an exciting campus community. This year, we feature Playfair Online! as part of the event.
Virtual EventJoin us to kickoff the spring semester! We will have events happening all week and please participate in all that you can. Learn about upcoming opportunities within your academic department in virtual sessions with faculty, alumni, and student organizations. This is a great way to get involved in the UTSA COE/CACP community.
Virtual EventThe Adobe Creative Campus Kickoff will introduce students to Adobe software and how they can use it to produce professional content for their courses. Students will learn about UTSA’s Adobe Creative Campus program and how they can access the software. Time permitting, there will be an overview of Adobe Creative Cloud.
Virtual EventWant to study abroad but aren't sure where to start? Our Study Abroad Information Session is a great way to hear about the options available to those interested in pursuing a global academic experience! Here you can learn about program types, scholarships, and other essential information!
Virtual EventTune in to learn about the best picks for having an easy and fun digital Spring. We will be introducing you to the new Blackboard experience and showing you how to access essential digital tools that are free! In this session, you’ll find resources that are UTSA exclusive.
Virtual Event