Vol 50, No 5 (2017)

This review addresses the challenge of miniaturizing rotary blood pumps for use in pediatric heart surgery in patients with severe heart failure. This problem is relevant because of the high mortality of patients on pediatric heart transplant waiting lists as compared with other age groups and the lack of alternative mechanical support. This has driven studies on the miniaturization of adult pumps.

This article discusses the first stages in the development of the Sputnik implantable pediatric rotary blood pump (Sputnik IPRBP). The requirements for the group of patients for whom the Sputnik IPRBP was developed were formulated. The design of the Sputnik IPRBP consists of a fixed flow tube, a straightener at the inflow, an impeller with an embedded magnet rotating at a rate of several thousand rpm, and a fixed diffuser on the output. Results of numerical simulation of liquid flow in the Sputnik IPRBP run in the Fluent ANSYS 16.2 hydrody-namics system are presented.

Biomechanical studies of the distribution of specific pressure across the internal surface of the socket were performed, focusing on the end of the arm stump during manipulation of the prosthesis. This was undertaken using a matrix of tensometric multisensory probes. These studies showed that peak loadings at local zones decreased significantly with increases in the area and continuity of contact of the skin of the stump with the internal surface of the socket. The best results were obtained using combined sockets made from silicone.

This article presents theoretical grounds and experimental studies on the development of a diagnostic method for liquid media based on photometry of samples as lying drops. The basic mechanisms of the effects of processes taking place in drop samples on their optical properties are discussed. Results obtained from verification tests of the drop photometry method for assessment of RBC sedimentation dynamics and the process of fibrin clot formation in clotting tests are presented.

This article discusses the construction and mathematical basis of a programmable system for psychophysiological studies suitable for investigations in medicine and psychology to address the prognostication and diagnosis of the early stages of socially important diseases and to increase the reliability of man−machine systems, for professional selection, assessment of the level of sportsman training, etc.

Selection of medically feasible criteria for diagnosis of sleep apnea is discussed. Diagnosis is based on the analysis of the dynamics of a set of parameters of the cardiovascular and respiratory activities. It is suggested to use the following parameters as diagnostic criteria: heart rate, heart rate variability, total spectral power, ratios (VLF + LF)/HF and LF/HF for the respiratory component, and cardiorespiratory coherence. Structural diagrams of a multilevel telemedicine system for diagnosis of sleep apnea and a remote terminal unit for measurement and recording of biomedical signals are suggested. Analog front-end (AFE) microcircuits are suggested to be used as the basis for the functional elements of the terminal unit.

A procedure for detecting the early stages of arterial hypertension in childhood and adolescence based on analysis of the characteristics of the pulse signal in the radial artery was evaluated. The results of a typological analysis of the shape of the basic period of the signal and its rhythmic structure are presented. Image recognition algorithms were used to assess the informativeness of features defined by the parameters of the oscillatory components of the signal. A decision rule was formed to identify arterial hypertension in patients in childhood and adolescence and probabilistic assessments of its effectiveness are presented.

Thermal design of devices for safe storage of biological objects was performed. Three-dimensional models of a safe storage device with multi-layer walls were constructed. Computational experiments with subsequent analysis of the temperature distribution over the computational domain and the time dependence of various parameters were performed.

This article reviews conference reports on the design and development of gantries for proton and ion therapy.