Newswise — During American Heart Month in February, when many people reevaluate their diet and exercise habits to ensure personal health and vitality, some heart surgeons are looking at promising research at Georgia Institute of Technology that could promote more successful mechanical heart implantations.
At Georgia Tech, researchers are using computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, to create numerical and graphic models of blood flow for the purpose of analyzing the interaction between blood fluid and the artificial heart.
The researchers believe that the analytical data derived from CFD simulations and fed to surgeons in the operating room could enable more successful artificial heart implantations. Some heart prosthesis fail, according to medical experts, due to excessive stresses and the turbulent flow of blood into and around the artificial heart's mechanical valves.
Currently, doctors employ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain readings of blood flow in patients undergoing an artificial heart implantation. However, CFD, which is commonly used in the design engineering community to analyze the dynamics of air and fluid through engines and other mechanical systems, could provide stronger numerical data and graphic details " and hence more accurate blood flow readings.
According to ASME, which recently ran an article in Mechanical Engineering magazine discussing the potential of CFD in heart surgeries, the manufacturers of heart valves can also benefit from an increased understanding of blood flow. Some current designs, according to Mechanical Engineering, "are far from ideal " they destroy blood platelets or permit a particle that has broken away from a blood clot to block a blood vessel."
To date, CFD has not found its way into the medical community, as doctors await more experimentation before they become convinced that computer modeling techniques could ultimately affect the life span and quality of life of artificial heart patients.
While technical lingo like "computational fluid dynamics" may not appear in a Valentine's Day card, one day CFD just might be the best Valentine's Day gift a heart patient could ever receive.
Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, today's ASME is a 120,000-member professional organization focused on technical, educational and research issues of the worldwide engineering and technology community. In 2005, ASME celebrates 125 years of continued service and leadership - setting the standard- for professional engineering societies worldwide.
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