Laser lab to improve artificial heart design

A $1.5million laser diagnostic laboratory could help researchers cut down thrombosis risks for artificial heart patients, using the latest Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The newly commissioned lab at the University of Newcastle is a combined initiative of the university’s Chemical Engineering department and the Australian Research Council (ARC).

"The laboratory is fully equipped with a wide range of diagnostic systems for measuring the velocity and flow rate of fluids, with a focus on micro fluidic dynamics. One area we will be looking at is the performance of artificial heart designs,” said Dr Behdad Moghtaderi, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

Moghtaderi said the university had already been in contact with local device company Ventracor, and had discussed using the facilities for future design work.

“We have started talks with Ventracor’s research people, with a view to collaborating on work in future,” he said. “We are also in talks with a US company in the artificial heart market, via a research team at Pittsburgh University, and we will be approaching other overseas companies too,” he added.

Research work will focus on the micro-behaviour of fluids in the microscopic gaps between artificial heart impellers and their casings. This is an area where blood flow is relatively stagnant, where the possibility of platelet clotting is a potential problem. PIV uses a laser linked to a microscope via an optic fibre link to observe fluid flows at the micron level, and potentially remove dangerous “high clot risk” design areas.

“(Potential clotting) is a common technical problem in artificial heart devices, and we will be using our laser system to study fluid (blood) behaviour in these regions. We have also worked on other bio-projects such as an artificial lung,” added Moghtaderi.