Investigators
Dr Michael Walsh
Investigator
michael.walsh
ul.ie
Dr Michael Walsh, Senior Lecturer, Biomedical Engineering and Theme Lead for Technology in Health at the Health Research Institute, University of Limerick. His research activity focuses on an improved understanding of the host response to the treatment of vascular diseases.
Dr Walsh’s primary area of research investigates how disease caused by vascular surgical interventions (intimal hyperplasia) is instigated/mediated by hemodynamics focusing on elucidating the role of hemodynamics in intimal hyperplasia formation which is a crucial step towards the understanding of how surgical treatments lead to disease formation and also how treatments can be improved to minimise intimal hyperplasia.
His secondary area of research is focused on vascular disease properties and how such properties can be leveraged for improved medical device design. In particular, mechanical and structural characterisation of disease tissue properties will provide insight in the development of patient specific therapies.
Other research focuses on developing a wide range (Class I to Class III) of medical devices along the entire development path from basic research through translational research onto applied research and commercialisation.
The clinical targets of Dr Walsh’s research are soft biological tissue disease including arterial disease, venous intimal hyperplasia, traumatic urology catheterisation and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Dr Walsh is a Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Biomedical Engineering Division. He is a Past Chair, Biomedical Engineering Division, Engineers Ireland and a Past Chair, Bioengineering in Ireland
Dr Walsh has published 74 peer-reviewed journal papers and 8 book chapters. He has a royalty bearing licenced technology to an indigenous Irish company, 3 granted patents, 2 in review and a spin-out company, Class Medical, established in 2014.
Dr Walsh has published high quality work in leading materials, biomedical engineering and medical journals such as Acta Biomaterialia, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology and European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, respectively. Recent work on the hemodynamics of AV access has led to publication in high impact journals and an invitation to edit a special issue of Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology on “Vascular Access” for publication in September 2016.
Related links
Profile on Research Gate