Enhancing Performance and Safety of Medical Implantable Devices with Multiphysics Simulation
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- COMSOL Multiphysics®
- Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs)
Tech Stack
- Multiphysics Simulation
- Rotating Machinery Modeling
- 3D Magnetic Field Model
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Productivity Improvements
- Innovation Output
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
- Life Sciences
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
- Remote Patient Monitoring
- Digital Twin
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
St. Jude Medical is a leading medical device company focused on developing innovative solutions to improve the lives of patients with heart failure. The company specializes in creating ventricle assist devices (VADs) that provide mechanical circulatory support to patients with poorly functioning left ventricles. St. Jude Medical employs advanced numerical simulation techniques throughout the design process to address various aspects of device development, including thermal effects, fluid dynamics, and power transfer. The company's research and development efforts are centered on enhancing the biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and immunocompatibility of their devices to ensure they do not elicit adverse immune responses or interfere with other bodily systems. With a commitment to improving patient outcomes and quality of life, St. Jude Medical continues to innovate and refine their LVAD technology.
The Challenge
The development of a device meant to assist or completely replace the functioning of the heart is undeniably complex. This design process involves immense challenges, from supplying power to the device to ensuring it does not interfere with normal biological functioning. Researchers at St. Jude Medical use multiphysics simulation to engineer LVADs, Left Ventricular Assist Devices, in an ongoing effort to improve the outlook and quality of life of patients with heart failure. The condition typically begins with the left side of the heart, as the left ventricle is responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, a greater distance than the right ventricle, which pumps blood through the lungs. Often, in patients with a poorly functioning left ventricle, an LVAD can provide mechanical circulatory support. The ventricle assist device is one of the most complex machines ever implanted in a human being. An LVAD must circulate the entire human blood stream and support life, as well as be compatible with the internal environment of the human body. Thoratec, now part of St. Jude Medical, brought LVADs to a wide market in 2010, after years of clinical trials.
The Solution
The design of an LVAD must take many factors into consideration. The device must be small enough to connect to the heart and be made of compatible materials and geometry that permit the device to reside in the body without being rejected. Fluid dynamics, power supply, and thermal management must also be considered. As multiple interacting physical effects must be accounted for at each area of development, multiphysics simulation is vital to the design process. Freddy Hansen, Sr. R&D Engineer at St. Jude Medical, uses his expertise in physics and mathematical modeling to characterize complex implantable medical devices like LVADs before experimental studies. Hansen has been using COMSOL Multiphysics® software since 2011 and has since created upwards of 230 models that address a wide range of design challenges pertaining to the unique physics of artificial pumping devices. With each generation of LVADs introduced to the market, improvements are made that contribute to enhanced safety and quality of life for the patient. Research and development efforts at St. Jude Medical are centered on improving biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and immunocompatibility, such that the device does not elicit an adverse immune response, nor interfere with other bodily systems. Geometry and size of the device play an important role in its overall effectiveness. To implant the LVAD, the surgeon connects one end of the LVAD to the left ventricle and the other end to the ascending aorta. If the device is smaller, it is less cumbersome, and less likely to interfere with neighboring organs or tissue. Simulation allows for the evaluation of changes in size or geometry of the LVAD design before implementation of a physical prototype.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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