Galway Medical Technologies Centre (GMedTech)


Since 2006, the GMedTech centre has developed capabilities in generating realistic vascular models from medical images with the main objective of computationally and experimentally modelling different physiological flow conditions through these vessels to assess disease conditions and the performance of various types of medical devices for both academic and industrial proposes.


The unique feature within the GMedTech centre is the capacity for designing and developing In vitro testing systems for replicating various haemodynamic conditions through different parts of the cardiovascular system that may or may not incorporate a disease type. This unique capability was recognised at last Summer’s ASME Summer biomedical engineering conference in Farmington, Pennsylvania, USA in which the researchers within the GmedTech centre was approached by the fluids committee to provide benchmarking test data for next year’s ASME summer biomedical engineering conference for the inaugural CFD challenge workshop. These test systems can prove the feasibility of a product or surgical procedure, assess various disease conditions and provide benchmarking data for the validation of computational analysis. A successful in vitro test system can keep animal testing and clinical trials to a minimum.


A number of fully controlled and instrumented synchronised experimental systems were designed and developed within the GmedTech centre. These test systems replicates various physiological flow conditions through different parts of the cardiovascular system with and without its’ associated disease type. Each rig has its own or access to a fully instrumented, synchronised data


acquisition and control system which monitors flowrates, pressures, wall displacements, temperatures and flow streamlines visualisation. All of our testing rigs are integrated with National Instruments (NI) hardware and software (LabVIEW) that synchronises motion, data acquisition, vision system with triggering capabilities of various tasks. The NI system allows full integration with other external measurement instruments.


The design of each test system incorporated a number of physiological parameters and conditions associated with the type of vessel being simulated. These parameters includes the following: •


Geometrically correct models based on medical images.


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Rigid walled or thin walled compliant physical models with a constant or varying wall thickness.


Incorporating various disease types such as aneurysms or plaque.


Similar co-efficient of fiction for the inner walls.


Simulating physiological pressure and flow waveforms for resting and exercise conditions.


Simulating blood properties with similar viscosity and density.


Simulating blood temperature


The four main vascular areas developed within the centre are: • Human aorta •


Cranial vasculature with the carotid and vertebral arteries.


• Coronary arteries with the heart muscle • Venous system.


GMedTech Contact: Dr Patrick Delassus, t: 091 742106 e: patrick.delassus@gmit.ie


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