A Novel Hybrid Membrane VAD as First Step Toward Hemocompatible Blood Propulsion.

Heart failure is a raising cause of mortality. Heart transplantation and ventricular assist device (VAD) support represent the only available lifelines for end stage disease. In the context of donor organ shortage, the future role of VAD as destination therapy is emerging.

High-frequency operation of pulsatile ventricular assist devices: A computational study on circular and elliptically shaped pumps.

Pulsatile positive displacement pumps as ventricular assist devices were gradually replaced by rotary devices due to their large volume and high adverse event rates. Nevertheless, pulsatile ventricular assist devices might be beneficial with regard to gastrointestinal bleeding and cardiac recovery. Therefore, aim of this study was to investigate the flow field in new pulsatile ventricular assist devices concepts with an increased pump frequency, which would allow lower stroke volumes to reduce the pump size.

Assessment of the Flow Field in the HeartMate 3 Using Three-Dimensional Particle Tracking Velocimetry and Comparison to Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Flow fields in rotary blood pumps (RBPs) have a significant influence on hemocompatibility. Because flow characteristics vary with flow rate, different operating conditions play a role. Furthermore, turbulence is crucial in the evaluation of blood damage potential, but the level of turbulence in implantable RBPs is still unknown.

A Novel Bioreactor System for the Assessment of Endothelialization on Deformable Surfaces.

The generation of a living protective layer at the luminal surface of cardiovascular devices, composed of an autologous functional endothelium, represents the ideal solution to life-threatening, implant-related complications in cardiovascular patients. The initial evaluation of engineering strategies fostering endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation as well as the long-term tissue homeostasis requires in vitro testing in environmental model systems able to recapitulate the hemodynamic conditions experienced at the blood-to-device interface of implants as well as the substrate deformation. Here, we introduce the design and validation of a novel bioreactor system which enables the long-term conditioning of human endothelial cells interacting with artificial materials under dynamic combinations of flow-generated wall shear stress and wall deformation.