PACK POINTS
The beat goes on
Engineers at NC State have developed a new machine that pumps fluid through a pig heart in a realistic way, creating a quick and inexpensive testing method.
When researchers test new tools and techniques for heart surgery, they usually turn to live pigs, which have heart valves that are anatomically similar to those found in humans. Problem is, researchers tend to spend lots of time and money on those animal or clinical trials.
Engineers at NC State are trying to cut those costs. They have developed a new machine that pumps fluid through a pig heart in a realistic way, creating a quick and inexpensive testing method.
“Researchers can obtain pig hearts from a pork processing facility and use the system to test their prototypes or practice new surgical procedures,” said Andrew Richards, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering who designed the heart machine.
The computer-controlled machine, which operates using pressurized saline solution, also allows researchers to film the interior workings of the pumping heart—enabling them to ascertain which surgical technologies and techniques perform best for repairing heart valves.
Because this “dynamic heart system” does not involve living pigs, researchers can avoid the lengthy permission processes associated with live animal testing.
“There will still be a need for testing in live animal models,” said Dr. Greg Buckner, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the project, “but this system creates an intermediate stage of testing that did not exist before. It allows researchers to do ‘proof of concept’ evaluations, and refine the designs, before operating on live animals.”
The new system also promises to save researchers lots of money.
“It costs approximately $25 to run an experiment on the machine,” Richards
said, “whereas a similar experiment using a live animal costs approximately
$2,500.” 