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Design of Biomedical Devices Application
of Advanced CFD Analysis
Researchers at the Silicon Valley office of ARA have applied advanced computational codes to improve the design of a range of biomedical devices. One example program applied advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes to improve the design of biomedical devices. These codes can analyze the flow of blood through biomedical devices such as blood pumps. An example simulation is shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2below.
CFD calculation of velocity streamlines, and distributions of pressure and shear stresses, allows the designer to visualize the blood flow through the device and optimize the design. In the original design of the pump shown here, visualizing the blood streamlines near the pump outlet showed that blood entered the outlet diffuser and then reentered the main housing. Furthermore, some blood made several passes in the main housing. These calculations suggested a redesign to the housing and diffuser to minimize reentrant flow.
CFD analysis can also be used to design the device to minimize hemolysis or other damage to the blood. Blood damage models implemented into the CFD codes can calculate the rates of blood damage caused by the pump. The rate of damage is related to flow shear stresses. The designer can then design the pump to minimize shear stresses and reduce the damage done to the blood.
For inquiries or comments, please contact:
Robert MacNeill
Principal Engineer
e-mail: rmacneill@ara.com
Our partner for this work was Acusim Software.
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