Healthy pulsatile blood flow in peripheral arteries is characterized by three distinct phases:
1. Systole: A rapid increase in forward blood flow (antegrade) velocity with a sharp peak occurs when the heart contracts.
2. Early diastole: Reverse blood flow (retrograde) velocity is observed as blood flows back towards the heart as the muscle relaxes and the ventricles refill with blood.
3. Mid to Late Diastole: A small slow antegrade reflective wave is generated by proximal compliant large and medium arteries.
An absence of triphasic waveform in blood flow can be a sign of arterial disease, such as atherosclerosis. The narrowing of blood vessel lumens and reduction of blood flow can lead to a loss of early diastolic flow reversal and antegrade flow during mid to late diastole, resulting in biphasic or monophasic waveforms.
Doppler ultrasound is used as a gold standard for measuring and diagnosing blood flow profiles[LB1] . The severity of the peripheral vascular disease can be determined by doctors and surgeons using doppler ultrasound as the waveforms indicate the severity of the occlusion. This will then dictate the type and urgency of intervention necessary for the level of peripheral vascular disease detected. If occlusions in blood vessels are left untreated, a patient is at risk of a heart attack, stroke, limb loss and other complications.
Having a deep understanding of the importance of triphasic waveforms in pulsatile blood flow has allowed our team to develop and build a unique pulsatile pump capable of replicating the three physiological flow profiles of varying disease states.
Initially the technology is being used in laboratories and research institutions in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia for developing new femoral catheter, performing ex-vivo liver and studying risk factor of coronary bifurcation angle.
This unique, patented pump is being further development for future applications in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, peripheral vascular disease and ventricular assist devices.
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