Ph.D. Student, Vi Vu, receives 1st prize at the JDP Poster Session held at UCSD

Aortic Insufficiency During LVAD Support: a Mock Loop Study

This is a study in Dr. Karen May-Newman’s Cardiovascular Bioengineering Lab. The lab’s objective is to improve the lives of patients with heart diseases through innovative approaches to medical device design and integration. One of the device that the researchers in the lab study is left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). They are implantable pumps, which help the hearts to pump blood and prolong patients’ lives. Beside many benefits, LVADs might come with serious complications. One of such is aortic insufficiency (AI), a condition where aortic valve cannot close completely and allows backward blood flow into the heart. This study investigates the effect of LVAD support on the indices associated with worsening AI, using a testable 3D printed AI model and a mock circulatory loop. The finding will provide a foundation for new strategies that can restore the function of aortic valve and reduce the impact of AI on patients.