Patient-specific hydraulic bench scale models
Irrespective of the high potential of computer based design and testing, computational models still require validation. Ideally, medical device designs and setups can be tested in the real, physical world. Experimental testing thus remains an important cornerstone of high quality research in order to assess medical devices (e.g. heart valves, stents, cardiac assist devices, endovascular grafts, catheters) and technology (e.g. sensors to measure pressures and flows, ultrasound algorithms).
Within IBiTech, we strive towards in vitro models using patient-specific geometries and realistic settings. The resulting models are typically homemade by our technical staff, based on personalized models generated via rapid prototyping techniques.
One example of IBiTech’s collection of hydraulic bench models is the 1:1 scale model of the human left heart and the arterial tree. This model cannot only be used for studying cardiovascular aspects (e.g. cardiac function, hemodynamics and pathophysiology), but also for applied research on medical devices such as prosthetic heart valves, cardiac assist devices, endovascular applications etc. Other examples of hydraulic bench models include testing of hemodialyzers, artificial lungs, coronary bypass grafts, the brain vasculature, targeted drug delivery in the liver vasculature etc.
Model of the human left heart and the arterial tree
3D print of a patient-specific liver arterial tree