Biomedical subjects

T C Lamson

Publications and source records attributed to T C Lamson.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

A new mock circulatory loop and its application to the study of chemical additive and aortic pressure effects on hemolysis in the Penn State electric ventricular assist device.

A new mock circulatory loop was developed for hemolysis studies associated with the Penn State electric ventricular assist device (EVAD). This flow loop has several advantages over previously designed loops. It is small enough to accommodate experiments in which only single units of blood are available, it is made out of biocompatible materials, it incorporates good geometry, and it provides normal physiological pressures and flows to both the aortic outlet and the venous inlet of the pumping device. Experiments with reduced aortic pressure but normal cardiac output showed that hemolysis in a loop with normal aortic blood pressure was significantly higher than that in a loop with lowered aortic pressure, thereby illustrating the importance of maintaining loop pressures as close as possible to those found in vivo. This data also imply that blood traveling through the left ventricle in an artificial heart may be subject to higher hemolysis rates than that traversing the right ventricle. Another set of experiments to determine the effects of 4 hemolysis or drag-reducing agents (Pluronic F-68, Dextran-40, Polyox WSR-301, and Praestol 2273TR) on blood trauma due to the EVAD and associated valves was performed. Results indicated that none of the additives significantly reduced hemolysis under the conditions found in the mock loop. Finally, a compilation of data gathered in these experiments showed that the index of hemolysis (IH) is dependent on hematocrit (HCT), which suggests that another parameter, IH/HCT, may be more suited to the quantification of hemolysis.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1994

A method for real-time in vitro observation of cavitation on prosthetic heart valves.

A method for real-time in vitro observation of cavitation on a prosthetic heart valve has been developed. Cavitation of four blood analog fluids (distilled water, aqueous glycerin, aqueous polyacrylamide, and aqueous xanthan gum) has been documented for a Medtronic/Hall prosthetic heart valve. This method employed a Penn State Electrical Ventricular Assist Device in a mock circulatory loop that was operated in a partial filling mode associated with reduced atrial filling pressure. The observations were made on a valve that was located in the mitral position, with the cavitation occurring on the inlet side after valve closure on every cycle. Stroboscopic videography was used to document the cavity life cycle. Bubble cavitation was observed on the valve occluder face. Vortex cavitation was observed at two locations in the vicinity of the valve occluder and housing. For each fluid, cavity growth and collapse occurred in less than one millisecond, which provides strong evidence that the cavitation is vaporous rather than gaseous. The cavity duration time was found to decrease with increasing atrial pressure at constant aortic pressure and beat rate. The area of cavitation was found to decrease with increasing delay time at a constant aortic pressure, atrial pressure, and beat rate. Cavitation was found to occur in each of the fluids, with the most cavitation seen in the Newtonian fluids (distilled water and aqueous glycerin).

Blood Viscosity↗

PubMed1994

An in-vitro investigation of prosthetic heart valve cavitation in blood.

Vapor cavities produced by low pressure fluid flow conditions have been observed in the vicinity of mechanical heart valves for many years. As cavities collapse during pressure recovery, they can produce stresses large enough to cause pitting of the valve occluders and lysing or activation of blood cells. To date, no method has been presented for the quantification of mechanical heart valve cavitation in blood because it has only been detected optically in transparent blood analog fluids. This paper describes a novel method for quantifying cavitation intensities in opaque fluids such as blood. It is based on the detection of high frequency pressure oscillations (35-350 kHz) at a location 4.5 cm proximal to a Björk-Shiley monostrut mitral valve in a mock circulatory loop driven by a Penn State Electric Ventricular Assist Device. The pressure oscillations which result from cavity collapse are used to quantify cavitation intensities in blood. One time domain and three frequency domain parameters have been developed to quantify cavitation intensity during a single valve closure event and over an ensemble of closure events. The time domain parameter is the Root Mean Squared (RMS) value of the pressure signal after it has been high-pass filtered at 35 kHz. The other three parameters are derived from the power spectrum of the pressure signal. One is the maximum value of the power spectrum between 100 and 200 kHz, another is the area under the power spectrum between 35 and 400 kHz, and the last is the volume under a 3-dimensional time vs. frequency vs. power spectrum plot. The parameters are averaged over a random sample of pressure traces to determine an average cavitation intensity for each operating condition studied. In addition, cavitation pressure fluctuations and hemolysis rates were determined simultaneously at several different mock flow loop operating conditions using porcine blood, and the relationships between various measures of cavitation intensity and the associated index of hemolysis have been established. Hemolysis was shown to increase with cavitation intensity.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

A two-phase fluid volume compensation chamber for an electric ventricular assist device.

A volume compensation chamber is a device used to reduce large pressure fluctuations created in electric ventricular assist devices during the emptying and filling of the blood sac. In this study, the effect of motor casing pressure variation (pressure swing) on the performance of the Penn State electric ventricular assist device (EVAD) was investigated. Design criteria were established for the maximum pressure swing tolerated by the EVAD and the optimal mean chamber pressure at which to operate. At the chosen mean chamber pressure of -15 mm Hg, it was found that pressure swing should be maintained below 45 mm Hg. A two-phase fluid volume compensation chamber was developed that reduced the pressure swing enough to ensure adequate pump performance. The device consists of a metal chamber with a high-heat-flux porous coating applied to the inside surface. The chamber uses Freon as the working fluid and is isolated from the EVAD by a metal bellows. It was found that the high-flux coating significantly reduces the pressure swing, in some cases by as much as 50% when compared with an identical chamber with no coating. In the coated chamber the pressure swing was maintained between 22 and 30 mm Hg at a beat rate of 60 beats/min, for a wide range of Freon volumes (4-38 ml). Even at 100 beats/min the pressure swings obtained with the coated chamber are well within an acceptable range.

Chlorofluorocarbons, Methane↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Real-time in vitro observation of cavitation in a prosthetic heart valve.

A technique for real-time in vitro observation of cavitation on a prosthetic heart valve operating in a ventricular assist device under normal physiologic conditions has been developed. Considering the documented observation of cavitation erosion in heart valve components from human explants, and the potential risk of blood damage that cavitation presents, the technique developed in this study may prove useful in the design of prosthetic heart valves and ventricular assist devices. Cavitation of a glycerol blood analog fluid has been documented for a Medtronic/Hall prosthetic heart valve operating in a Penn State Electric Ventricular Assist Device. The ventricular assist device was operated in a mock circulatory system under normal physiologic conditions. The valve was located in the mitral position, with the cavitation occurring on the inlet side after valve closure. Bubble cavitation was seen on the valve occluder face, and vortex cavitation was observed at two locations in the vicinity of the valve occluder and housing. The cavity growth and collapse cycle for these forms of vaporous cavitation was less than 1 msec. Stroboscopic photography and stroboscopic videography with frame grabbing were used to document the cavity life cycle. With beat rate held constant, the cavity duration time was found to decrease with increasing mean venous return pressure.

Heart Valve Prosthesis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ventricular assist device volume compensation using a two phase fluid.

A two-phase fluid (TPF) volume compensation chamber (VCC), using Freon as a working fluid, has been developed to reduce pressure fluctuations created in electric ventricular assist devices (VADs) during emptying and filling of the blood sac. The advantages of a TPF VCC over the currently employed flexible compliance chambers are as follows: 1) the TPF VCC has rigid external walls, eliminating the deleterious effects of fibrous ingrowth; 2) the internal diaphragm is made of Saran HB, which has a permeability two orders of magnitude less than that of butyl rubber; and 3) the TPF VCC has an external volume of 477 ml, comparable to that of the flexible compliance chambers used for electric VADs with a stroke volume of 100 ml. Experiments were conducted with the VCC attached to an electric VAD operated in a mock circulatory system. The results show that the strong temperature sensitivity of Freon vapor pressure does not compromise VAD flow output over a temperature range of 6 degrees C. Since body temperature generally fluctuates no more than 5 degrees C, this result is promising. A compromise is seen, however, in VAD power consumption. As the temperature of the VCC drops 6 degrees C, the mean pressure of the system drops 95 mmHg, causing an increase in power consumption that may require introduction of a temperature control system.

Blood Pressure↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relative blood damage in the three phases of a prosthetic heart valve flow cycle.

Blood flow through a prosthetic heart valve operating in a ventricular assist device can be subdivided into three phases: a) forward flow through an open valve, b) rapid valve closure, and c) regurgitant back flow through a closed valve. Recent studies of fluid stresses in the Penn State Electric Left Ventricular Assist Device (PS LVAD) operating under physiologic conditions indicate that Reynolds stresses of possibly hemolytic magnitude may exist in the valve area. Although several studies have been made of the fluid stresses seen in forward flow through an open valve, few have looked at valve closure or backflow, and none have related these stresses directly to blood damage. In this study, novel in vitro blood flow loops were developed to allow for the separate analysis of the three flow phases of a Bjork-Shiley monostrut Delrin disk valve operating in a PS LVAD. Forward flow through fully open aortic and mitral valves and backflow through closed valves are studied separately in flow loops driven by a roller pump with the LVAD acting as a valve housing and compliance vessel. Valve closure is investigated with a PS LVAD operating in a low volume mock circulatory loop characterized by cavitation potential through stroboscopic videography of this mock loop, using saline as the working fluid. Rate of hemolysis, characterized by the index of hemolysis, IH, is determined for each of the three flow loops charged with fresh porcine blood.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗