Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is the most common lethal cardiac malformation of the newborn. Its treatment, apart from heart transplantation, is the Norwood operation. The initial procedure for this staged repair consists of reconstructing a circulation where a single outlet from the heart provides systemic perfusion and an interpositioning shunt contributes blood flow to the lungs. To better understand this unique physiology, a computational model of the Norwood circulation was constructed on the basis of compartmental analysis. Influences of shunt diameter, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, and heart rate on the cardiovascular dynamics and oxygenation were studied. Simulations showed that 1) larger shunts diverted an increased proportion of cardiac output to the lungs, away from systemic perfusion, resulting in poorer O2 delivery, 2) systemic vascular resistance exerted more effect on hemodynamics than pulmonary vascular resistance, 3) systemic arterial oxygenation was minimally influenced by heart rate changes, 4) there was a better correlation between venous O2 saturation and O2 delivery than between arterial O2 saturation and O2 delivery, and 5) a pulmonary-to-systemic blood flow ratio of 1 resulted in optimal O2 delivery in all physiological states and shunt sizes.

Shape memory alloys, and in particular NiTi alloys, are characterized by two unique behaviors, thermally or mechanically activated: the shape memory effect and pseudo-elastic effect. These behaviors, due to the peculiar crystallographic structure of the alloys, assure the recovery of the original shape even after large deformations and the maintenance of a constant applied force in correspondence of significant displacements. These properties, joined with good corrosion and bending resistance, biological and magnetic resonance compatibility, explain the large diffusion, in the last 20 years, of SMA in the production of biomedical devices, in particular for mini-invasive techniques. In this paper a detailed review of the main applications of NiTi alloys in dental, orthopedics, vascular, neurological, and surgical fields is presented. In particular for each device the main characteristics and the advantages of using SMA are discussed. Moreover, the paper underlines the opportunities and the room for new ideas able to enlarge the range of SMA applications. However, it is fundamental to remember that the complexity of the material and application requires a strict collaboration between clinicians, engineers, physicists and chemists for defining accurately the problem, finding the best solution in terms of device design and accordingly optimizing the NiTi alloy properties.

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Background-In the Fontan circulation, pulmonary and systemic vascular resistances are in series. The implications of this unique arrangement on infradiaphragmatic venous physiology are poorly understood. Methods and Results-We studied the effects of respiration and gravity on infradiaphragmatic venous flows in 20 normal healthy volunteers (control) and 48 Fontan patients (atriopulmonary connection [APC] nϭ15, total cavopulmonary connection [TCPC] nϭ30). Hepatic venous (HV), subhepatic inferior vena caval (IVC), and portal venous (PV) flow rates were measured with Doppler ultrasonography during inspiration and expiration in both the supine and upright positions. The inspiratory-to-expiratory flow rate ratio was calculated to reflect the effect of respiration, and the supine-to-upright flow rate ratio was calculated to assess the effect of gravity. HV flow depended heavily on inspiration in TCPC compared with both control and APC subjects (inspiratory-to-expiratory flow rate ratio 3.4, 1.7, and 1.6, respectively; PϽ0.0001). Normal PV flow was higher in expiration, but this effect was lost in TCPC and APC patients (inspiratory-to-expiratory flow rate ratio 0.8, 1.0, and 1.1, respectively; Pϭ0.01). The respiratory influence on IVC flow was the same in all groups. Gravity decreased HV flow more in APC than in TCPC patients (supine-to-upright flow rate ratio 3.2 versus 2.1, respectively; PϽ0.04) but reduced PV flow equally in all groups. Conclusions-Gravity and respiration have important influences on infradiaphragmatic venous return in Fontan patients.Although gravity exerts a significant detrimental effect on lower body venous return, which is more marked in APC than in TCPC patients, the beneficial effects of respiration in TCPC patients are mediated primarily by an increase in HV flow. These effects may have important short-and long-term implications for the hemodynamics of the Fontan circulation.

Using 3D RP models resulted in more accurate selection of patients for PPVI than did using MR images.

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