Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has become an established neuroprotective therapy for patients after cardiac arrest [1, 2]. Selective brain cooling represents a promising way to shorten the time to reach the target brain temperature and additionally spare other organs from damage caused by temperature decrease. We present the investigation of the cooling performance of a single-balloon catheter dimensioned for the placement within the common carotid artery (CCA) by means of three different approaches: mathematical, numerical and in-vitro testing.
Malaria is an infectious disease in which parasites enter the human body through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. When the pathogens are released into the bloodstream, at first nonspecific disease symptoms occur. To start the essential medical treatment, a fast and sensitive diagnosis is necessary. The gold standard method of malaria diagnostics is the microscopic examination of blood smears. However, this requires laboratory equipment and medical specialists, which is usually not present in the affected malaria centers. For this purpose, a novel microfluidic chip system has been developed. It is based on the optical detection of the specific coupling of the pathogens to the bottom of a microfluidic channel. While the laminar flow in a microfluidic channel causes the pathogens to remain in the center of the channel, we developed herringbone structures on the top surface of the channel to generate turbulences, which deflect the pathogens downwards resulting in an increase of the coupling. Mathematical simulations show that in the areas with herringbone structures, elevated velocities and turbulent flow could be observed. To verify these results, we developed channel systems with different herringbone structures, where the flow behavior was examined microscopically by using polymer beads. The experiments demonstrated clearly the formation of desired turbulences. For the final microfluidic system a reliable passive filling system is necessary. For that purpose we have combined the fluidic capillary forces inside narrow channels with the additional suction force of a nonwoven material. The experiments have shown that the flow behavior inside the system can be controlled by means of additional ventilation holes.
Microsystems technologies allow to considerably improve the functionality of existing medical instruments and produce novel devices. Using extremely miniaturized operation systems based on micro-technically processed nickel-titanium alloys, minimally invasive therapeutic interventions can be accomplished in the most sensitive parts of the human body. This has not been possible so far. Fields of use presently comprise among others minimally invasive surgery, endoscopic neurosurgery, interventional cardiology, gynaecology, urology, and ophthalmology.
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