Ilaria Toniolo
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova
Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
e-mail ilaria.toniolo@unipd.it

Research Activity

Ilaria Toniolo, as member of the multidisciplinary Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, section Biomechanics, focused mainly on the mechanical evaluation of biological tissues and structures. Using an innovative coupled experimental and computational approach, the overarching aim is to optimize biomedical devices and refine surgical techniques, emphasizing the mechanical and mechano-biological aspects. The endeavors are tailored to address real and critical clinical needs.

The central focus of the research encompasses several key areas: the mechano-physiology of gastrointestinal structures, in-depth analysis of bariatric surgery through computational modeling, the mechanical functionality of the lower urinary tract, bone tissue material evaluation using CT scans, the mechanical aspects of the eye. Also, the development of automated procedures based on neural networks and biomedical image analysis is a pivotal research topic aimed at generating patient-specific numerical models of various organs, facilitating an in-depth, tailored evaluation of surgical procedures through virtual simulations.

Five most representative publications

• Toniolo, I., Berardo, A., Gagner, M., Foletto, M., Carniel, E.L., Unveiling the effects of key factors in enhancing gastroesophageal reflux: A fluid-structure analysis before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (2023) Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 231, art. no. 107409.
  DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107409
• Toniolo, I., Fontanella, C.G., Foletto, M., Carniel, E.L., Coupled experimental and computational approach to stomach biomechanics: Towards a validated characterization of gastric tissues mechanical properties (2022) Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 125, art. no. 104914.
  DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104914
• Toniolo, I., Berardo, A., Foletto, M., Fiorillo, C., Quero, G., Perretta, S., Carniel E.L., Patient-specific stomach biomechanics before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (2022) Surg Endosc 36, 7998–8011 DOI: 10.1007/s00464-022-09233-7
• Toniolo, I., Pirini P., Perretta, S., Carniel E.L., Berardo, A., Endoscopic versus laparoscopic bariatric procedures: A computational biomechanical study through a patient-specific approach (2024) Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, art no. 107889 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107889
• Toniolo, I., Salmaso, C., Bruno, G., De Stefani, A., Stefanini, C., Gracco, A.L.T., Carniel, E.L., Anisotropic Computational Modelling of Bony Structures from CT Data: An Almost Automatic Procedure. (2020), Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, vol. 189, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105319.