Hemocompatibility of rotodynamic blood pumps

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Paul Uwe Thamsen
• Subject Area: Hydraulic and Turbo Engines and Piston Engines ; Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering ; Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 544978652

Heart failure patients treated with a rotodynamic blood pump (RBP) remain suffering from severe adverse events - more than one serious event per patient-year have been reported. This burden is generally attributed to inadequate device hemocompatibility that might arise from current RBP design strategies: RBPs are engineered based on conventional principles of turbomachinery whose applicability to RBP designs is limited given the distinct design objectives. We aim to research the mutual interrelations among the three key disciplines in RBP design: electromagnetics, hydraulics and hemocompatibility. Specifically, we seek to transform the way of how we pump blood in rotodynamic machines by linking fundamental turbomachinery with bioengineering expertise within the boundaries of optimal but realistic magnetic bearing (MB) and electric machine designs. The overarching objective is to stipulate design guidelines for ideal pump conceptions for diverse patient populations leading to reduced adverse event rates in next generation RBPs. To this end, we will develop and apply novel in-vitro test benches and validated numerical simulations to research the hydraulic design space of RBPs by accurately resolving hydraulic loss distributions in numerous RBP designs. Additionally, these loss distributions will be linked to the haematologic footprint and hemocompatibility related adverse event rates of clinically used RBPs in a prospective clinical study. Finally, we will delineate the interrelation of MB design and turbomachinery with a large set of RBPs to derive novel multi-objective design guidelines for tailored RBP conceptions. The unprecedented systematic examination of the relationship between the three key components in the design and development of RBPs - hemocompatibility, turbomachinery and electric machine design - holds the innovative potential to stipulate evidence-driven guidelines for future RBP designs, tailored for specific patient populations. In addition to this overarching innovation in the field of RBP development, each of the three disciplines will realize a substantial step beyond the state-of-the-art: complex flow phenomena within an RBP and mechanisms on how dissipating energy affects blood trauma will be discovered and ideal approaches to magnetically levitate an RBP impeller for optimal hydraulic performance will be described. The Principal Investigators ap. Prof. Marcus Granegger, Medical University of Vienna (MUW), Prof. Paul Uwe Thamsen (TU Berlin) and Dr. Jonas Huber (ETH Zurich) have a proven track record of fruitful collaboration and extensive experience in bioengineering, turbomachinery and electric machine design, respectively. The primary researchers Prof. Daniel Zimpfer (MUW) and Prof. Johann W. Kolar (ETH Zurich) complement the team with a unique clinical and experimental know-how.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria, Switzerland
• Partner Organisation: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF)
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Marcus Granegger, Ph.D.; Dr. Jonas Huber