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Improved Flow Straighteners Reduce Thrombus in the NASA/DeBakey Axial Flow Ventricular Assist Device
Author(s) -
Kawahito Koji,
Benkowski Robert,
Ohtsubo Satoshi,
Noon George P.,
Nosé Yukihiko,
DeBakey Michael E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
artificial organs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1525-1594
pISSN - 0160-564X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1594.1997.tb00374.x
Subject(s) - ventricular assist device , thrombus , cardiology , flow (mathematics) , medicine , marine engineering , engineering , mechanics , heart failure , physics
A small axial flow ventricular assist device (VAD) measuring 3 inches long and 1 inch in diameter is in development. The pump consists of a spinning inducer/ impeller, a flow straightener (FLS), and a diffuser enclosed in a cylindrical flow tube. The impeller has rod‐shaped permanent magnets embedded within its 6 blades and is activated magnetically by the motor stator which is positioned outside the flow tube. At the completion of a previous study, the FLS was identified as a thrombogenic area. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the thrombogenicity of redesigned FLSs (swept‐back and bulbous types), compared with standard type (STD) FLS. A total of 15 pumps (STD, n = 7; swept‐back, n = 4; and bulbous, n = 4) were sequentially implanted into 4 calves paracorporeally in a short‐term ex vivo test. The STD and bulbous FLSs experienced thrombus formation, but the swept‐back FLS was thrombus free during a 48 h screening test.