Diego Quevedo-Moreno

Diego Quevedo-Moreno is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering whose research is focused on the development of implantable, biomimetic, medical devices that augment or assist native function. With the support of a MathWorks Fellowship, Diego will work on the design and testing of an implantable ventilator to treat respiratory failure. For patients with severe diaphragm dysfunction who are not candidates for minimally invasive treatments, the current alternative is permanent airway tethering to a mechanical ventilator via tracheostomy, which can severely compromise autonomy and quality of life. To address this, Diego is creating an implantable soft robotic ventilator capable of restoring respiratory function. He has successfully demonstrated the ability of the device to assist in respiration and is now creating a MATLAB-based computational model and a physiologically relevant benchtop platform to fully simulate the respiratory biomechanics of the rib cage and diaphragm. MathWorks tools and products have been critical in Diego’s research. His work has exciting potential to create an innovative therapeutic alternative for artificial ventilation, ultimately improving patient quality of life and advancing the field of medical robotics.