Characterization of the Embolisher, a device for cerebral embolic protection

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a new, minimally invasive solution to replacing diseased aortic valves. However, some of residual particles resulting from crushing the diseased valve during implementation of TAVI could make their way to the blood stream moving to the brain and causing strokes (average about 22% of cases treated with TAVI). The present work aims at investigating different scenarios of blood dynamics during implementation of TAVI in order to come with novel device/method to eliminate any risk of strokes. The new device is named "Embolisher". It consists of three parts; stent, deployment apparatus, and retrieval apparatus. The present research focuses on development of novel stent design and uses both experimental methods and numerical simulation of the blood flow during implementation of TAVI. Testing prototype of the novel stent design on the simulator proved success in blocking 99% of neutrally buoyant microspheres injected and over 97% of neutrally buoyant microspheres destined for cerebral circulation. Optimization of deployment and retrieval apparatuses for performance and cost effectiveness is highly recommended.