In recent years, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have gradually replaced heart transplants in clinical practice to provide circulatory support to patients with heart failure. However, adverse events associated with mechanical blood injury following the implantation of these VADs are often significantly evaluated. They have become a significant problem in developing VADs, limiting their clinical and economic benefits. Therefore, further efforts are necessary to improve the performance of VADs through novel design and evaluation strategies.
The design of VADs must improve to optimise blood-device interactions, reduce blood damage to red blood cells, platelets, Von Willebrand factors, etc. and enhance the quality of life through smaller implant technologies, wearable systems, and reliance on invasive controls. Less invasive miniaturised ventricular assist devices should also receive high priority. Devices for total artificial hearts (TAH), support systems, and pulmonary circulation should also be explored. Various preclinical evaluation methods have been used: in silico simulation is possible and inexpensive; physical devices can be tested and iteratively improved during in vitro testing, and in vivo animal testing can assess the device's interaction with the body. Evaluation strategies, either s, alone or in combination, should continue to be optimised and implemented to maximize the latest advances in design techniques and evaluation strategies for VADs that this research topic aims to collect.
The Research Topic looks for papers in areas including, but not limited to:
• hydraulic design using experiments and computational fluid mechanics (CFD);
• motor design and impeller suspension;
• mechanism of blood damage (In vitro experimental study and numerical modeling);
• biomaterials and coatings;
• new concepts of VADs (miniaturized VADs, TAH)
• less-invasive implantation techniques, wearable systems, and physiological controls
• in silico evaluation (multiscale models, CFD);
• in vitro bench testing (mock-circulation loops, particle image velocimetry, blood damage);
• in vivo evaluation (animal studies).
In recent years, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have gradually replaced heart transplants in clinical practice to provide circulatory support to patients with heart failure. However, adverse events associated with mechanical blood injury following the implantation of these VADs are often significantly evaluated. They have become a significant problem in developing VADs, limiting their clinical and economic benefits. Therefore, further efforts are necessary to improve the performance of VADs through novel design and evaluation strategies.
The design of VADs must improve to optimise blood-device interactions, reduce blood damage to red blood cells, platelets, Von Willebrand factors, etc. and enhance the quality of life through smaller implant technologies, wearable systems, and reliance on invasive controls. Less invasive miniaturised ventricular assist devices should also receive high priority. Devices for total artificial hearts (TAH), support systems, and pulmonary circulation should also be explored. Various preclinical evaluation methods have been used: in silico simulation is possible and inexpensive; physical devices can be tested and iteratively improved during in vitro testing, and in vivo animal testing can assess the device's interaction with the body. Evaluation strategies, either s, alone or in combination, should continue to be optimised and implemented to maximize the latest advances in design techniques and evaluation strategies for VADs that this research topic aims to collect.
The Research Topic looks for papers in areas including, but not limited to:
• hydraulic design using experiments and computational fluid mechanics (CFD);
• motor design and impeller suspension;
• mechanism of blood damage (In vitro experimental study and numerical modeling);
• biomaterials and coatings;
• new concepts of VADs (miniaturized VADs, TAH)
• less-invasive implantation techniques, wearable systems, and physiological controls
• in silico evaluation (multiscale models, CFD);
• in vitro bench testing (mock-circulation loops, particle image velocimetry, blood damage);
• in vivo evaluation (animal studies).