Research

Current ventricular assist device (VAD) options are not optimally designed to help weak ventricles recover their function. Accordingly, only a small minority of VAD patients can currently be weaned from implantable pumps. We have developed a device capable of supporting circulation alone and augmenting recovering ventricular function – the “Recover VAD.” We also want to leverage our expertise in wireless power delivery to design this system to have no external drivelines.

A novel assist device which can allow ambulation of patients temporarily supported by LVAD and/or RVAD configuration allowing removal of the system in an awake fashion.

A portable rapid deployment system for cardiopulmonary support that is capable of systemic circulation and oxygenation in the field (outside of hospital environment).

The lab is engaged in developing innovative ways to transfer energy wirelessly to mechanical circulatory support devices used in the treatment of end-stage heart failure. Our vision constitutes a completely implantable cardiac assist system affording tether-free mobility in an unrestricted space.

This “FREE-D” technology uses electromagnetic fields to transmit energy to a receiver antenna implanted in patients along with the artificial heart pump, akin to Wi-Fi technology used today. This exciting concept eliminates the driveline cord that protrudes from the patients’ body, reducing the risk of device-related infections and providing patients with much more mobility to engage in daily activities, including exercise. Featured in the mainstream media, including The Economist, and scientific literature, this groundbreaking new technology is drawing interest from medicine and industry alike.

Learn more about the FREE-D Wireless Energy Transfer System by watching them in action.

We are working on design, fabrication, and testing of an ambulatory PAD for patients who require short-term (for procedures that require endotracheal intubation) and long-term (end stage lung disease, ARDS, cardiopulmonary failure) ventilator assistance.

Members of the lab are analyzing a nationwide dataset of patients who have undergone heart and lung transplantation in an effort to elucidate issues of concern related to both donors and recipients

We have developed a large animal model that demonstrates recovery from heart failure while on support with ventricular assist device (VAD). This is an extension of the lessons learnt from extensive data from our human VAD recovery patients, which is robustly supported by our biochemical and molecular analysis. We plan to elucidate clinical, imaging, biomedical, and molecular signatures of recovery – via analysis of cardiac tissue and peripheral blood cells – and to develop novel bioengineering algorithms of adjusting VAD function to optimize ventricular recovery.

The research focuses on elucidating mechanisms involved in organ dysfunction while on ECMO support in adults and neonates. The principle aim of the project is to design a compact integrated ECMO unit capable of supporting the cardiac and pulmonary function of the patient in different environments with ease of deployment, use and transport.

Although CPR and ACLS protocols have standardized the management of patients with cardiac arrest, there hasn’t been an appreciable effect on the survival of these patients over the last few decades. We have developed a novel platform, which allows a deployment of robust cardiopulmonary support with rapid hypothermia and automatic physiological monitoring of the patient.

We are working on design, fabrication, and testing of an ambulatory PAD for patients who require short-term (for procedures that require endotracheal intubation) and long-term (end stage lung disease, ARDS, cardiopulmonary failure) ventilator assistance.

We are currently working on novel methods for accurately modeling the anatomy and physiology of the human cardiovascular system

Several novel platforms are utilized and tested for efficacy and reproducibility in aiding surgical education for training tomorrow’s surgeons.

Learn more about surgical research by watching the simulations in action.