Valentina Pinto obtained her MEng in Biomedical Engineering (‘Biomechanics and medical devices’ curriculum) in 2021 at the University of Palermo, Italy, with a thesis carried out in the bioengineering laboratory of Ri.MED Foundation.  Since 2022, she is a PhD student in ‘Mechanical, Manufacturing, Management and Aereospace Innvation’ at the University of Palermo, Italy, with a project in collaboration with the Ri.MED Foundation and University College London (UCL), UK, about the thermomechanical characterisation of superelastic/shape memory NiTi alloys.

Valentina’s research project aims to implement a new approach to enhance the thermo-mechanical characterisation of NiTi alloys, based on the combination of two full-field measurement techniques: Digital Image Correlation and Infrared Thermography.  This will enable the design and development of safer and more effective biomedical devices such as self expanding stents and transcatheter valves.