Development of Novel Cardiovascular Assisting Device For Patients With Total Cavopulmonary Connection (TCPC)

本项目的目的是开发一种设备，以帮助全腔肺连接患者的循环，这是先天性单心室缺陷的Fontan手术后典型的手术改变的循环形式。虽然Fontan手术已有几十年的成功历史，但由于单心室生理原因，缺乏脉冲泵送功率会导致患者在手术后几年的健康状况下降，通常以静脉高压的形式出现。因此，目标是设计和开发一种装置，为弱化的循环提供额外的驱动支撑。该装置将利用常用的外科移植物，膨胀聚四氟乙烯（ePTFE）管，并通过使用移植物外部的可收缩金属元素控制蠕动产生向前流动。这种新颖的方法也是安全的，因为即使在收缩元件失效的情况下，移植物仍然可以作为导管。设计参数将使用计算流体动力学（CFD）来探索，以快速识别有效的流体驱动机制的最佳设计。开发的模型将在体外模拟循环系统中进行测试。预计在项目结束时，将有一个经过良好验证的工作原型，这将作为进一步发展临床翻译的跳板。

The aim of this project is to develop a device that will assist the circulation of patients with total cavopulmonary connection, which is a typical surgically-altered form of circulation after the Fontan procedure on congenital single ventricle defect of the heart. While the Fontan procedure has a successful history over decades, lack of pulsatile pumping power due to the single ventricle physiology causes a patient's health to decline over the years after the surgery, typically in a form of venous hypertension. The goal, therefore, is to design and develop a device that produces additional driving support to the weakened circulation. The device will utilise the commonly-used surgical graft, expanded polytetrafluroethylene (ePTFE) tube, and a forward flow will be generated by controlled peristalsis using contractile metallic elements from the outside of the graft. This novel approach is also safe, because even in case of contractile element failure, the graft still works as a conduit. Design parameters will be explored using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for fast identification of optimal design for an efficient flow-driving mechanism. The developed model will then be tested in an in vitro mock circulatory system. A well-validated working prototype is expected in the end of the project, which will work as a springboard for further development towards clinical translation.