Flow in Cardiopulmonary Bypass Reservoir

^ Sheet light flow visualization of a blood reservoir which is used to store blood during open heart surgery. The flow pattern was analyzed to verify that there are no areas of stagnant flow. Blood flow is non-newtonian with higher viscosity at low shear rates. Stagnant flow can lead to clumping of blood cells, and this can result in clots, so it is important to verify that the flow pattern in the reservoir has been fully optimized. Click on the picture for an mpeg video. ( 892 KB)

Click here for a video of the top view ( 1.4 MB) . Flometrics has experience optimizing medical devices such as blood pumps, reservoirs, dialyzers, stents, and atherectomy devices, so we have a good understanding of the issues relevant to blood flow in medical devices.