Towards non-thrombogenic performance of blood recirculating devices

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Science
• Medical Device Development

Background:

• Implantable blood recirculating devices are vital for severe cardiovascular diseases.
• Hemolysis and thromboembolism are significant challenges limiting device efficacy.
• Optimizing thrombogenic performance is crucial for device safety and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review methodologies for optimizing the thrombogenic performance of blood recirculating devices.
• To explore the interaction between flow-induced stresses and blood constituents.
• To support the hypothesis that non-physiological flow patterns initiate thromboembolism.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing research on blood-device interactions.
• Analysis of flow-induced stresses and their effect on blood platelets.
• Utilizing advanced numerical and experimental tools to study thromboembolic mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Flow-induced stresses and non-physiological patterns are primary drivers of thromboembolism.
• Platelet activation and aggregation are significantly influenced by blood flow dynamics.
• Elucidation of mechanisms leading to thromboembolism in prosthetic devices.

Conclusions:

• Understanding flow-device interactions is critical for reducing thromboembolic events.
• Future research should focus on mitigating non-physiological flow patterns.
• Optimized devices hold promise for effective destination therapy in cardiovascular care.