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Daniel Esteban Hurtado Sepúlveda

Full Professor

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE, DEPTO. INGENIERIA ESTRUCTURAL Y GEOTECNICA

Santiago, Chile

Líneas de Investigación


Computational Medicine; Respiratory Mechanics; Multiscale Modeling; Medical Devices, Medical Innovation

Educación

  •  Mechanical Engineering, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Estados Unidos, 2011
  •  Mechanical Engineering, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Chile, 2007
  •  Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE. Chile, 2003

Experiencia Académica

  •   Assistant Professor Full Time

    PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

    Engineering

    Santiago, Chile

    2011 - 2015

  •   Associate Professor Full Time

    PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

    Engineering

    Santiago, Chile

    2016 - 2024

  •   Full Professor Full Time

    PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

    Engineering

    Santiago, Chile

    2024 - At present

  •   Visiting Professor Full Time

    MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

    Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences

    Estados Unidos

    2022 - 2024

  •   Research Affiliate Part Time

    MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

    Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences

    Chile

    2024 - At present

Experiencia Profesional

  •   Structural Engineerg Full Time

    ARA Ingenierios

    Santiago, Chile

    2004 - 2006

Formación de Capital Humano


Postdoctoral advisor for 5 researchers: Pedro Madrid (2014–2015) , Roberto León (2018–2020) , Francisco Sahli (2019–2019) , Benjamín Erranz (2021–2023) , Nicolás Barnafi (2023–2023)

PhD Advisor for 10 students: Julio Sotelo (2012–2016) , Mauricio Sarabia-Vallejos (2015–2021) , William Ramirez (2015–2021) , William Miranda (2016–2021) , Carlos Andrade (2015–2022) , David Ortiz (2017–2023) , Agustín Perez (2021–Present) , Nibaldo Avilés (2021–Present) , José Barahona (2021–Present) , César Santis (2024–Present)

M.S. Advisor for 19 students: Sebastián Castro (2013–2015) , Nicolás Perez (2013–2015) , Guillermo Rojas (2015–2017) , Felipe Concha (2015–2017) , Pablo Iturrieta (2016–2017) , Valentina Frenkel (2015–2017) , Nicolás Barnafi (2015–2017) , Javiera Jilberto (2017–2018) , Patricio Zavala (2017–2020) , Felipe Alvarez (2018–2021) , Agustín Cox (2019–2022) , Felipe Saéz (2020–2022) , Pablo Zurita (2020–2022) , Benjamín Villa (2020–2023) , Niki Hamidi-Vadeghani (2022–2025) , Victoria Alfaro (2023–Present) , Bastián Herrera (2024–Present) , Vicente Zuñiga (2026–Present) , Naomi Aldea (2026–Present)


Difusión y Transferencia


Intellectual and Industrial Property

Main inventor of 2 families of patents:
P1) Techniques for quantifying respiration using a wearable device and related systems and methods. Daniel Hurtado, Angel Abusleme, Javier Chavez:
- Patent Granted in the USA (US 12,186,072 B2), date: 07-01-2025
- Patent Granted in China (ZL 201980018451.9), date: 13-02-2024
P2) Device for the real-time monitoring and early warning of obstruction and movement of an artificial airway. Daniel Hurtado, Matias Castillo, Angel Abusleme, Luis Felipe Damiani:
- Patent PCT filed (WO 2016106460), date: 21/12/2015
- Patent filed in Chile (CL 3592-2014), date: 31-12-2014

Patent Licensing:
- Patent P1 is exclusively licensed to IC Innovations SpA, UC spin-off company, since 2022.

Engagement with Industry
- Innovation award by Fundación de Ingenieros UC, 2018
- Scientific Director for 5 Applied R&D projects (2 Startup Ciencia ANID, 3 CORFO Innova projects) to develop respiratory wearable technology
- 1 spin-off company founded in 2021 (IC Innovations SpA). Co-founder and Scientific Advisor.
- Spin-off company IC Innovations has received many awards and recognitions: Best Spin-off Company Award by PUC (2025), TechCrunch Startup Battlefield (2024), MassChallenge Acceleration program (2023).

Dissemination (selected)
- Speaker, Congreso Futuro (2019), https://youtu.be/S3LVm-uRfDE
- Articles and interviews in major media outlets in Chile


Premios y Distinciones

  •   The Robert J. Melosh Medal - Best Student Paper in Finite Element Analysis, winner and medalist

    DUKE UNIVERSITY

    Estados Unidos, 2011

    The Robert J. Melosh Medal - Best Student Paper in Finite Element Analysis, winner and medalist

  •   The Taylor & Francis Prize for Best Poster Presentation at the 11th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering

    UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

    Estados Unidos, 2013

    The Taylor & Francis Prize for Best Poster Presentation at the 11th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering

  •   Young Scientist Award

    World Economic Forum

    Suiza, 2018

    Selected as one of the best 50 young scientist under 40 years old worldwide

  •   Member of the Council

    World Council of Biomechanics

    Holanda, 2018

    Elected one of the 50 members of the World Council of Biomechanics, the largest organization of biomechanicians in the world.

  •   Innovation Award

    PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

    Chile, 2018

    Innovation Award, bestowed by the School of Engineering during San Agustin's annual ceremony

  •   Innovation Award

    Fundación de Ingenieros UC (FIUC)

    Chile, 2018

    Premio al ingeniero destacado en el área de Innovación

  •   Best Spin-Off Company

    PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

    Chile, 2025

    Awarded to the best spin-off company of the University for outstanding achievements in technology transfer

  •   Young Scientist Award

    World Laureates Forum

    China, 2021

    Awarded to outstanding scientists worldwide


 

Article (64)

CPAP and high-flow nasal oxygen also reduce lung, diaphragm, and accessory muscle injury in experimental self-inflicted lung injury
CPAP improves regional lung strain rate and diaphragm velocity of relaxation in experimental self-inflicted lung injury
Integrating pulmonary surfactant into lung mechanical simulations: A continuum approach to surface tension in poromechanics
Modeling pulmonary perfusion and gas exchange in alveolar microstructures
Multifidelity deep learning modeling of spatiotemporal lung mechanics
Radon-Transform-Based Similarity Measures for Non-Affine Deform-able Image Registration
A machine-learning regional clustering approach to understand ventilator-induced lung injury: a proof-of-concept experimental study
Estimation of ventilatory thresholds during exercise using respiratory wearable sensors
Machine learning modeling of lung mechanics: Assessing the variability and propagation of uncertainty in respiratory-system compliance and airway resistance
Mechanical and morphological characterization of the emphysematous lung tissue
Fluid flow migration, rock stress and deformation due to a crustal fault slip in a geothermal system: A poro-elasto-plastic perspective
Morphometric analysis of airways in pre-COPD and mild COPD lungs using continuous surface representations of the bronchial lumen
Multiscale modeling of lung mechanics: From alveolar microstructure to pulmonary function
WarpPINN: Cine-MR image registration with physics-informed neural networks
Computational modeling of capillary perfusion and gas exchange in alveolar tissue
Distribution and Magnitude of Regional Volumetric Lung Strain and Its Modification by PEEP in Healthy Anesthetized and Mechanically Ventilated Dogs
Snakes Isogeometric Analysis (SIGA): Towards accurate and flexible geometrical models of the respiratory airways
Whole-lung finite-element models for mechanical ventilation and respiratory research applications
Accelerating cardiac and vessel mechanics simulations: An energy-transform variational formulation for soft-tissue hyperelasticity
Comprehensive Assessment of Left Intraventricular Hemodynamics Using a Finite Element Method: An Application to Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients
Estimation of changes in cyclic lung strain by electrical impedance tomography: Proof-of-concept study
Evaluation of Lung Aeration and Respiratory System Mechanics in Obese Dogs Ventilated With Tidal Volumes Based on Ideal vs. Current Body Weight
Inelastic deformable image registration (I-DIR): Capturing sliding motion through automatic detection of discontinuities
New Primal and Dual-Mixed Finite Element Methods for Stable Image Registration with Singular Regularization
Pressure-driven micro-poro-mechanics: A variational framework for modeling the response of porous materials
Three-Dimensional Whole-Organ Characterization of the Regional Alveolar Morphology in Normal Murine Lungs
A physiological approach to understand the role of respiratory effort in the progression of lung injury in SARS-CoV-2 infection
In-silico study of the cardiac arrhythmogenic potential of biomaterial injection therapy
Low and Oscillatory Wall Shear Stress Is Not Related to Aortic Dilation in Patients With Bicuspid Aortic Valve A Time-Resolved 3-Dimensional Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Non-invasive continuous respiratory monitoring using temperature-based sensors
Non-ohmic tissue conduction in cardiac electrophysiology: Upscaling the non-linear voltage-dependent conductance of gap junctions
On the role of ionic modeling on the signature of cardiac arrhythmias for healthy and diseased hearts
Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Cardiac Activation Mapping
Respiratory Volume Monitoring: A Machine-Learning Approach to the Non-Invasive Prediction of Tidal Volume and Minute Ventilation
Upscaling the poroelastic behavior of the lung parenchyma: A finite-deformation micromechanical model
Mapping regional strain in anesthetised healthy subjects during spontaneous ventilation
Multi-fidelity classification using Gaussian processes: Accelerating the prediction of large-scale computational models
The role of three-dimensionality and alveolar pressure in the distribution and amplification of alveolar stresses
3D axial and circumferential wall shear stress from 4D flow MRI data using a finite element method and a laplacian approach
Does Regional Lung Strain Correlate With Regional Inflammation in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome During Nonprotective Ventilation? An Experimental Porcine Study
Micromechanical model of lung parenchyma hyperelasticity
On improving the numerical convergence of highly nonlinear elasticity problems
Primal and Mixed Finite Element Methods for Deformable Image Registration Problems
Renal Decapsulation Prevents Intrinsic Renal Compartment Syndrome in Ischemia-Reperfusion-Induced Acute Kidney Injury: A Physiologic Approach
Semi-implicit non-conforming finite-element schemes for cardiac electrophysiology: A framework for mesh-coarsening heart simulations
Three-dimensional quantification of vorticity and helicity from 3D cine PC-MRI using finite-element interpolations
Non-conforming finite-element formulation for cardiac electrophysiology: an effective approach to reduce the computation time of heart simulations without compromising accuracy
Simultaneous left and right ventricle segmentation using topology preserving level sets
Spatial patterns and frequency distributions of regional deformation in the healthy human lung
The importance of mechano-electrical feedback and inertia in cardiac electromechanics
Uncertainty quantification of 2 models of cardiac electromechanics
Variability of 4D flow parameters when subjected to changes in MRI acquisition parameters using a realistic thoracic aortic phantom
3D Quantification of Wall Shear Stress and Oscillatory Shear Index Using a Finite-Element Method in 3D CINE PC-MRI Data of the Thoracic Aorta
Computational modeling of non-linear diffusion in cardiac electrophysiology: A novel porous-medium approach
Generating Purkinje networks in the human heart
Improving the Accuracy of Registration-Based Biomechanical Analysis: A Finite Element Approach to Lung Regional Strain Quantification
Quantification of wall shear stress using a finite-element method in multidimensional phase-contrast MR data of the thoracic aorta
Verification of cardiac mechanics software: benchmark problems and solutions for testing active and passivematerial behaviour
Computational modelling of electrocardiograms: repolarisation and T-wave polarity in the human heart
Gradient flows and variational principles for cardiac electrophysiology: Toward efficient and robust numerical simulations of the electrical activity of the heart
Local mechanical response of cells to the controlled rotation of magnetic nanorods
The special-linear update: An application of differential manifold theory to the update of isochoric plasticity flow rules
Finite element analysis of geometrically necessary dislocations in crystal plasticity
Surface effects and the size-dependent hardening and strengthening of nickel micropillars

Letter (1)

Noninvasive Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Is a Lung- and Diaphragm-protective Approach in Self-inflicted Lung Injury
7
Sergio Uribe

Associated professor

Radiology

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA

Santiago, Chile

9
Pablo Cruces

MEDICO JEFE

PEDIATRIA

HOSPITAL EL CARMEN DE MAIPU

SANTIAGO, Chile

1
Magdalena Walczak

Associate Professor

Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE, ESCUELA DE INGENIERÍA

Santiago, Chile

65
Daniel Hurtado

Full Professor

Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE, DEPTO. INGENIERIA ESTRUCTURAL Y GEOTECNICA

Santiago, Chile

3
Joaquín Mura

Profesor

Ingeniería Mecánica

Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María

Santiago, Chile

3
Alejandro Bruhn

Profesor Titular. Director de Investigación y Postgrado, Facultad de Medicina

Departamento de Medicina Intensiva

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE

Santiago, Chile

1
Jose Cembrano

Profesor Titular

Ingeniería Estructural y Geotécnica

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

5
Pablo Irarrazaval

Professor

Electrical Engineering

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Marcelo Andia

Associate Professor

Radiology

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

2
Cristian Tejos

Professor

Department of Electrical Engineering

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

9
Jaime Retamal

Profesor Asociado

Medicina Intensiva

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

Santiago, Chile

2
Carlos Sing-Long

Assistant Professor

Instituto de Ingeniería Matemática y Computacional

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

7
Julio Sotelo

Académico

Departamento de Infomática

Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María

Santiago, Chile

2
Guillermo Bugedo

Staff Medicina Intensiva

Medicina Intensiva

Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Alejandro Bruhn

Jefe Unidad de Paciente Critico

Hospital Clinico de la Universidad Catolica

Santiago, Chile

1
Gabriel Gatica

Senior Researcher and Full Professor

Center for Research in Mathematical Engineering and Department of Mathematical Engineering

Universidad de Concepcion

Concepcion, Chile

1
Alejandro Pacheco

Académico

Kinesiología

Universidad Católica del Maule

Talca, Chile

1
JORGE CANCINO

Académico investigador

Kinesiología

Universidad Finis Terrae

Santiago, Chile

1
veronica rojas

Enfermera de Investigación

Medicina Interna

Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Cristóbal Arrieta

Associate Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universidad Alberto Hurtado

Santiago, Chile

1
Roberto López

Ingeniero Biomédico

DICTUC S.A.

Santiago, Chile

1
FELIPE CONTRERAS

Professor

INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD

Universidad de O'Higgins

RANCAGUA, Chile

3
Sebastián Castro

Asistente de investigación

CIGIDEN

Macul, Chile

3
Felipe Lillo

Director de Carrera

Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida

Universidad Andrés Bello

Viña del Mar, Chile

5
JUAN URBINA

Médico - Radiólogo

Radiología

Complejo Asistencial Dr Sótero del Río

Santiago, Chile

1
Tania Medina

Enfermera clínica

Hospital El Carmen

Santiago, Chile

2
Nicolás Barnafi

Assistant Professor

Instituto de Ingeniería Matemática y Computacional, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

3
Felipe Concha

Socio fundador e ingeniero de machine learning

AndesLab

Santiago, Chile

1
Pamela Franco

Assistant Professor

Universidad Andrés Bello

Santiago, Chile

1
Pablo Lillo

Académico

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

1
Hernán Mella

Assistant Professor

School of Electrical Engineering

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Valparaíso, Chile

4
Mauricio Sarabia

Profesor Asociado

Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño

Universidad San Sebastián

Santiago, Chile

2
David Ortiz

Profesor ayudante

Universidad de Valparaíso

Valparaíso, Chile

4
Agustín Pérez

PhD. Candidate

Departamento de Ingenieria Estructural y Geotécnica

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile