Bettinger studying brain aneurysms

MSE professor, Christopher Bettinger is leading an interdisciplinary project that could make brain aneurysm treatments more successful and more permanent.

“Current treatments are temporary solutions that the body eventually processes,” said Bettinger, an associate professor of materials science and engineeirng and biomedical engineering.  “When the clot fails, weeks later, months later, or years later, a patient has to undergo the same procedure again.”

Bettinger's team aims to make aneurysm treatments more permanent. Through a grant from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance, the team has been testing GeniCoat, a genipin-based, controlled release material. Genipin is a chemical compound derived from gardenia fruit extract that serves as an extremely successful cross-linker for proteins. This creates a much more stable clot.