Heart patients with aortic valve narrowing can replace medication after transplant
Researchers from USP (University of São Paulo) and Unicamp (State University of Campinas) develop a device that can eliminate the use of anticoagulants in heart patients, the Wheatley aortic valve.
The research, developed at Cemeai (Center for Mathematical Sciences Applied to Industry), consists of the computational modeling of a mechanism that replaces the natural aortic valve in patients with severe cases of aortic stenosis disease.
The pathology is a narrowing of the main valve that branches from the heart (aorta), according to Albert Einstein Hospital. This narrowing prevents the valve from opening completely, reducing blood flow to the body and making it difficult for the heart to function.
Common among the elderly, in severe conditions the only viable alternative to guarantee an improvement in the patient's quality of life is a transplant of the dysfunctional natural valve with an artificial one.
Cemeai's research focuses on the Wheatley aortic valve, created in 2012 by Scottish professor and heart surgeon David Wheatley. The mechanism arose because the inventor felt the need for a better understanding of the mathematical and computerized model of the device.
The study opportunity for Brazilian researchers arose when Professor Wheatley consulted Sean McKee, from the University of Strathclyde, also in Scotland. In turn, McKee contacted a former doctoral student under his supervision, USP professor José Alberto Cuminato, coordinator of Cemeai, who currently belongs to the faculty at Strathclyde.
The improvement of Wheatley's aortic valve is important because it should eliminate the need for anticoagulant medications in the postoperative phase, as is done with other polymeric valves.
Anticoagulants are used to “tune” blood, that is, they prevent the formation of clots and facilitate blood circulation. This type of drug treatment requires extreme care and attention from the patient, especially when bleeding occurs that can lead to other complications.
The studies have already won this year's USP Post-Doc Award, in the area of exact and earth sciences, for Unicamp professor Hugo Luiz Oliveira, a member of the group of researchers.
Cemeai is a Research, Innovation and Diffusion Center supported by Fapesp (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo) and headquartered at ICMC-USP (Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences of the University of São Paulo), São Paulo campus. Carlos.
Process Steps
Having a high-fidelity computational model reduces not only the time spent designing the valve and its intrinsic mechanisms, but also the costs involved in the physical production of prototypes and experimental tests.
The Cemeai team proposed to carry out computational modeling of the Wheatley valve in order to reproduce its mechanical behavior under service conditions. This action allows any improvements identified to be tested virtually without the need to produce new parts for each proposed change.
The experiments aim to ensure that the valve opens and closes quickly and that the shear stress in the blood flow is always above a critical threshold. As a result, the system prevents the formation of thrombosis and guarantees a longer useful life of the device compared to conventional valves.
To achieve the proposed result, the researchers tested several software. The option that best suited the needs of the research project was the LS-DYNA solver, which allowed the computer to reproduce the mechanical and fluid dynamic performance that Wheatley's aortic valve presents under controlled flow and pressure conditions.
With information from Fapesp Agency.
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