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The Use of Fluid Mechanics to Predict Regions of Microscopic Thrombus Formation in Pulsatile VADs

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Abstract

We compare the velocity and shear obtained from particle image velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in a pulsatile ventricular assist device (VAD) to further test our thrombus predictive methodology using microscopy data from an explanted VAD. To mimic physiologic conditions in vitro, a mock circulatory loop was used with a blood analog that matched blood’s viscoelastic behavior at 40% hematocrit. Under normal physiologic pressures and for a heart rate of 75 bpm, PIV data is acquired and wall shear maps are produced. The resolution of the PIV shear rate calculations are tested using the CFD and found to be in the same range. A bovine study, using a 50 cc Penn State V-2 VAD, for 30 days at a constant beat rate of 75 beats per minute (bpm) provides the microscopic data whereby after the 30 days, the device is explanted and the sac surface analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and, after immunofluorescent labeling for platelets and fibrin, confocal microscopy. Areas are examined based on PIV measurements and CFD, with special attention to low shear regions where platelet and fibrin deposition are most likely to occur. Data collected within the outlet port in a direction normal to the front wall of the VAD shows that some regions experience wall shear rates less than 500 s−1, which increases the likelihood of platelet and fibrin deposition. Despite only one animal study, correlations between PIV, CFD, and in vivo data show promise. Deposition probability is quantified by the thrombus susceptibility potential, a calculation to correlate low shear and time of shear with deposition.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the National Institutes of Health for their support of this project through NIH NHLBI HL60276. Stephen R. Topper, Michael A. Navitsky, Richard B. Medvitz, Eric G. Paterson, Christopher A. Siedlecki, Margaret J. Slattery, Steven Deutsch, Gerson Rosenberg, and Keefe B. Manning declare that they have no conflict of interest. All institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed and approved by the appropriate institutional committees (Penn State IACUC #97104). No human studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 205 Hallowell Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Stephen R. Topper, Michael A. Navitsky, Christopher A. Siedlecki, Margaret J. Slattery, Steven Deutsch, Gerson Rosenberg & Keefe B. Manning

  2. Applied Research Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Richard B. Medvitz & Eric G. Paterson

  3. Department of Surgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Christopher A. Siedlecki, Gerson Rosenberg & Keefe B. Manning

Authors
  1. Stephen R. Topper
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  2. Michael A. Navitsky
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  3. Richard B. Medvitz
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  4. Eric G. Paterson
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  5. Christopher A. Siedlecki
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  6. Margaret J. Slattery
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  7. Steven Deutsch
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  8. Gerson Rosenberg
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  9. Keefe B. Manning
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Correspondence to Keefe B. Manning.

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Associate Editor Steven C. George oversaw the review of this article.

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Topper, S.R., Navitsky, M.A., Medvitz, R.B. et al. The Use of Fluid Mechanics to Predict Regions of Microscopic Thrombus Formation in Pulsatile VADs. Cardiovasc Eng Tech 5, 54–69 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13239-014-0174-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13239-014-0174-x

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