Program Information

Series: Destination Tomorrow
Program: Episode 5
Segment Number: 2 (Watch entire program)
Duration: 00:04:50
Year Produced: 2002
Description:

NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment about the DeBakey Heart Pump designed by NASA engineers that extends the life of heart failure patients.

NASA's Destination Tomorrow™ is a series of 30-minute programs that focus on NASA research. Each exciting program gives the audience an inside look at NASA and demonstrates how research and technology relate to our everyday lives.

For more information visit: http://destination.larc.nasa.gov/

Transcript

EVERY YEAR, APPROXIMATELY 20 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE SUFFER FROM HEART FAILURE, NEARLY 5 MILLION OF THEM IN THE U.S. ALONE. IN MANY CASES, A HEART TRANSPLANT IS THE BEST CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, ONLY ABOUT 2,500 DONOR HEARTS ARE AVAILABLE EACH YEAR, LEAVING MANY PATIENTS WITH LITTLE HOPE OF SURVIVAL UNTIL NOW. A UNIQUE DEVICE CALLED THE DeBAKEY VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE, OR V.A.D., IS NOW ABLE TO PROLONG LIFE UNTIL A SUITABLE TRANSPLANT HEART IS AVAILABLE. BASED ON THE VISION OF DR. MICHAEL DeBAKEY AND DESIGNED BY NASA ENGINEERS, THIS DEVICE USES ADVANCED FLOW TECHNOLOGIES-- FIRST USED IN THE SPACE SHUTTLE-- TO INCREASE BLOOD CIRCULATION FOR HEART FAILURE PATIENTS AWAITING A TRANSPLANT. I SPOKE WITH JIM AKKERMAN AT NASA'S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER TO FIND OUT MORE. THE ASSIST DEVICE IS A LOT LIKE A FAN, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE A FAN IN A LITTLE PIPE, AND IT JUST SORT OF BLOWS THE BLOOD ALONG. BLOOD IS A VERY FRAGILE FLUID, VERY UNUSUAL-TYPE THING TO BE PUMPING ALONG, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK FOR MANY YEARS WITH PLUNGER-TYPE PUMPS THAT-- THAT ARE ABLE TO HANDLE THE FLUID VERY TENDERLY, BUT THEY'VE ALL BEEN BIG AND NOT VERY PRACTICAL. THE KEY IS, BLOOD HAS TO FLOW FAST THROUGH IT, AND OF COURSE, THAT GENERATES PROBLEMS WITH TURBULENCE AND LOW-PRESSURE ZONES AND BLOOD DAMAGE, AND IT'S--IT'S JUST TURNED OUT TO BE A REAL CHALLENGE. JIM, HOW DOES THE DEVICE WORK? THE ASSIST DEVICE ESSENTIALLY HOOKS TO THE LEFT VENTRICLE, AND A SMALL HOSE COMES UP AND CONNECTS ONTO THIS END OF THE PUMP. THE BLOOD FLOWS IN HERE. THESE LITTLE BLADES SORT OF SCREW INTO THE BLOOD FLOW. IT RUNS 10,000 REVOLUTIONS A MINUTE. THE BLOOD IS ROTATING WITH THE ROTOR. THEN WHEN IT FLOWS INTO THE DIFFUSER BLADES IN THE AFT END OF THE PUMP, THE BLOOD'S ROTATING MOTION IS DECELERATED, DISCHARGED, AND FLOWS OVER INTO THE DESCENDING AORTA. SO HOW DID NASA BECOME INVOLVED IN A MEDICAL PROJECT? WELL, ESSENTIALLY, THEY GOT INVOLVED WITH DeBAKEY THROUGH ONE OF HIS PATIENTS. DOCTOR DeBAKEY, OF COURSE, IS A HEART SURGEON. IN FACT, HE INVENTED THE FIRST PUMP THAT WAS USED TO SUPPORT THE LIFE OF THE PERSON WHILE HE WORKED ON THE HEART. DeBAKEY HAD BEEN WORKING ON A BLOOD PUMP FOR, LIKE, 30 YEARS, TRYING TO GET SOMETHING THAT WAS PRACTICAL AND REALISTIC, AND I THINK HE HAD ESSENTIALLY PRETTY MUCH THROWN IN THE TOWEL, ALMOST, 'CAUSE IT WAS SUCH A CHALLENGE TECHNICALLY. AND HE ASKED IF MAYBE SOMEBODY DOWN AT NASA WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LOOKING INTO IT. WE WENT OVER THE REQUIREMENTS, AND IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT A SPECIAL KIND OF TECHNOLOGY WAS GOING TO BE REQUIRED. BECAUSE BLOOD IS THE OPERATING FLUID FOR THE V.A.D., THE DEVICE MUST BE DESIGNED TO GENTLY PROPEL BLOOD THROUGH THE APPARATUS TO MINIMIZE DAMAGE TO THE RED BLOOD CELLS. IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, NASA ENGINEERS DESIGNED THE PUMPING DEVICE TO AVOID REGIONS OF HIGH STRESS AND SEPARATED FLOW INSIDE THE PUMP. THEY ALSO DESIGNED THE PUMP TO PROPERLY WASH OUT ALL OF THE BLOOD FROM LOW-FLOW REGIONS INSIDE THE DEVICE, HELPING TO PREVENT THE FORMATION OF BLOOD CLOTS. THESE MODIFICATIONS WERE ACCOMPLISHED BY USING THE SAME TYPE OF COMPLEX COMPUTATIONAL FLOW MODELS DEVELOPED TO INCREASE FUEL EFFICIENCY INSIDE THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENGINES. BY USING A COMPUTERIZED MODEL OF BLOOD FLOW FOR THE DEVICE, RESEARCHERS WERE ABLE TO REFINE THE V.A.D.'S PROBLEM AREAS, GAIN VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE BLOOD FLOW PROCESS INSIDE THE DEVICE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HELP SAVE LIVES. JIM, HOW LONG IS THIS DEVICE DESIGNED TO WORK? IT'S DESIGNED TO RUN FOR AT LEAST 100 DAYS, BUT WE'VE ALREADY RUN IT, LIKE, 110 DAYS, AND NO SIGNS OF ANY PROBLEM AT ALL. AS LONG AS THE BEARINGS ARE STILL INTACT, IT'S STILL GOING TO FUNCTION. WE CAN ENVISION THE THING ALMOST INDEFINITELY. THE REALLY EXCITING PART OF IT ALL IS THAT WITH THE EXTRA CIRCULATION THIS LITTLE UNIT PROVIDES, THERE'S A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE PATIENTS THAT ARE RECOVERING TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A TRANSPLANT. THEY'RE--ACTUALLY, THE HEART ITSELF RECOVERS WITH GOOD ENOUGH CIRCULATION. THAT'S A REAL ADVANTAGE TO KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT NEED THE SUPPORT WILL EVENTUALLY NOT NEED A TRANSPLANT. IT WAS REALLY A-- A CHALLENGE, FUN KIND OF CHALLENGE THAT ENGINEERS REALLY ENJOY, AND WITH THE TECHNOLOGY NASA HAS, WE WERE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

Virginia Standards

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