Optimising occlusion for roller pumps in open heart surgery

Project description

Current perfusion pumps require significant set-up time, and their performance can change during an operation due to differences in temperature, flow and blood characteristics. This project will investigate the standard set-up procedure for the roller arterial pump which provides the energy and function of the heart during cardiopulmonary bypass and evaluate whether the process can be improved through automated or semi-automated assistance. Aims of the project are:

• Investigate the set-up procedures of occlusion pumps
• Propose improvement or alterations to the process
• Design, build and test hardware modifications to an occlusion pump

Co-supervisors

Dr David Hobbs

Industry involvement

Supported by Prof Rob Baker and Dr Annette Mazzone, SALHN Perfusion, Quality and Outcomes, Flinders Medical Centre and the College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University. The service will support the project by providing clinical expertise, supervision and access to surplus/expired perfusion equipment and expired blood for experimentation.

Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.