YaaaaaY

[JasonGrahn]

[DLC]

Bad

Ass

[skid542]

Vikash, congratulations. For everything you've sacrificed and the countless nights and days 'wasted' in the books, here's to you... Congrats again, that's just plain awesome.

[magicmike]

Congratulations Vikash!

[vrg3]

Thanks, guys... I feel so happy reading all your replies. I love Legacy Central.

Jason - It is published, technically... A very short run of seven copies. One at Cornell's library, one held by the Cornell Graduate School, one in my advisor's office, one in the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics library, one in my minor advisor's library, one for my parents, and one for me. I can always print and bind more if I feel so inclined.

Art - Congrats on finishing your degree; that's really great. I'm impressed that you did it after an eight year break. Going back to school is hard.

The thesis looks longer than it is... It's double-spaced with large margins and a large typeface, and there are lots of full-page figures.

[THAWA]

Again, awesome!

[93Leg-c]

Congratulations, Vikash!!! That's an accomplishment!!!

I'm going to read your thesis through when I can schedule in the time. I just read a few pages and I found myself saying, "Hmmm, now what does that word mean?" I'm especially interested in it since my dad had an aneurysm (ha! I had to look up the spelling in the dictionary--I didn't realize it had two accepted spellings) and the doctors/surgeons said they couldn't put a stent in because his artery was ballooning right where it started branching off. So they opened him up and fixed it.

So, now, with your degree, what kind of jobs do you qualify for? Any particular one you'll be especially pursuing?

[vrg3]

Thanks, guys!

93Leg-c - Actually, your father is the exact reason for starting this research. Right now, you're only a candidate for endovascular repair if you have what they call "favorable anatomy." That is, your arteries (and the aneurysm) have to have simple geometry.

There are a few places in the world where they design and implant stents for complex cases, but right now it's kind of black magic rather than proper engineering. The surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic with whom I've been working (Dr. Roy Greenberg) is leading the world with his designs, but he can't teach others to replicate his work because it's an art rather than a science. The eventual goal of the work started in my thesis is to make it a science.

Most graduates from our program end up working in the entertainment or gaming industries. In my particular case, though, I actually am considering a position at the Cleveland Clinic where I would continue my research and apply it to real-life cases. There are a few other things I'm looking at too, but nothing is concrete yet. If I don't end up in Cleveland I'll most likely move back to the DC area and find some random IT job or something for at least the short term. Lately I've been throwing around the idea of applying to business school next year...

[93Leg-c]

Wow, you may be a pioneer in this area of endovascular repair!

So, basically, you're looking for a way to produce a way and/or equipment that will map out the complex geometry of each individual case then be able to produce a multi-angled stent that will unfold in the artery(ies) and perfectly take the place of the weakened arterial walls?

I want to ask you all kinds of questions about it but this probably isn't the place to do it. Although if you don't mind discussing it if I PM'd you I'd like that very much. . .

Dr. Greenberg reminds me of a personal friend that used to own a large hospital in Texas decades ago. He trained with the world's top surgeon for years until that surgeon died. This doctor friend goes into surgery and actually teaches other doctors and surgeons things that they never heard of before. He liked difficult cases too. In fact, twenty years ago, he didn't consider performing open-heart surgery without the use of blood to be a real challenge.

I'm starting to ramble.

Well, whatever course you choose to pursue, may it prove to be truly fulfilling!

[vrg3]

Yes, that's right. I've been working on a system to automatically generate a mathematical model of a patient's arterial geometry. The model could then be used to precisely design a stent. If you look through the first chapter of my thesis you can see some examples of how relatively simple current designs are, and some examples of how complex the aorta can be.

The geometric analysis would also have other useful purposes... Even before you could use it to create stent parameters, you could use it to make accurate and precise measurements of things like the length of a portion of an artery, or the actual cross-sectional diameter of an aneurysm.

I'd be glad to discuss it more over email... vikashgoel at gmail dot com.

Yeah, Roy is a very impressive man. I got to watch him work in the OR and was amazed by his ability to intuit what was happening from limited imaging, to think on his feet and deal with complexities, and to precisely control his minimally invasive instruments, all while teaching another surgeon and explaining things to me. He's been pushing the state of the art aggressively, and travels all around the world demonstrating this techniques.

Thank goodness for people like him and your friend.

[93Leg-c]

By your description, Dr. Greenberg sounds very impressive. I know what you mean by having ability to discern things through limited imaging--my friend, Bill, can also "see" things in xrays that other doctors and radiologists cannot. He has a phenomenal understanding of how the entire human body interacts, he's a tremendous diagnostician, and he's got the skills to fix a problem. He's got the "knack," just like Roy, I'm sure.

I've got to read your thesis first before I email you -- it would probably answer many of my questions. But it will probably generate more, too. I'll gmail you someday. Thanks for the invitation to do so!