Bioengineering, Medical Devices

Seminar

Multiphysics Analysis for Medical Devices Using COMSOL Multiphysics—September 2021

This course—now taking place over three days—will review the physics areas relevant to medical devices and cover the efficient use of COMSOL Multiphysics to solve problems in the medical device industry.  It covers modeling challenges specific to medical devices, such as biological material model

Case study

Active Mixing in a Microwell by Repetitive Pipetting
A simple way of mixing small volumes (microliters or milliliters) of reagents is by repeatedly dispensing and withdrawing solution from a microwell or tube. In this case study, we used a two-phase multiphysics simulation with coupled fluid flow and mass transfer to analyze the efficacy of this active mixing process.
Bioabsorbable Coronary Stent Design
Bioabsorbable materials, such as polylactic acid (PLA), are finding increasing applications in medical devices. These polymers exhibit a nonlinear anisotropic viscoplastic response when deformed, which requires a sophisticated material model for accurate finite element predictions.
Chemical Carryover in Microfluidic Devices
Removing reagents or sample from a previous processing step via a wash cycle is a common challenge in microfluidic assays used in diagnostic, genomic, biomedical, pharmaceutical and other applications. This case study shows how finite element simulations may be used to predict and optimize wash cycle performance.
Concentration Gradients in Microfluidic Devices
Controlling spatial variations in chemical concentration is important for designing and operating many microfluidic devices across a wide range of industries and applications including diagnostics, genomics, and pharmaceutics. In this case study, we show how simulations may be used to quantify and control concentration gradients in microfluidic devices.
Cranial Perforators
Medical devices, such as the cranial perforator here, show imperfections that are rejected by physicians. Veryst investigated the source of these imperfections and recommended steps to remove them.
Delamination in Microfluidic Valves
A commonly encountered failure mode in microfluidic devices is delamination between adjacent device layers. Veryst examined the influence of control channel geometry on the delamination pressure of a pneumatic microfluidic valve using finite element analysis.
Design and Simulation of a Catheter-Based Acoustic Ablation Device
Thermal ablation is a minimally invasive way to treat tumors, and simulating the physics of ablation can help in the design of ablation devices. Veryst designed and simulated a catheter-based acoustic ablation device relying on acoustic pressure waves to heat tissue to induce necrosis.
FEA of Absorbable PLLA Bone Screw
The nonlinear deformation and material relaxation associated with modeling the polymer screws for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction makes predicting key quantities such as stresses and holding forces challenging. Veryst, with its unique ability to test and model PLLA materials, was able to develop material and finite element models that predict the important short-term pull-out forces as well as the evolution of stresses over time.
Guidewire Entanglement
Guidewires and stents can become entangled during deployment. Veryst assisted in determining whether product design plays any role in these events.
Hemolysis in a Converging-Diverging Nozzle
Red bloods cells may be damaged in medical devices due to high shear stresses induced by their flow through the device. Veryst simulated turbulent flow of a converging-diverging nozzle specified in an FDA benchmark study, incorporating different hemolysis models to determine which areas of the device may damage red blood cells.
Insufflation Analysis
To compare the performance of two gas humidification devices, Veryst Engineering performed gas flow testing, device examination, and CFD analysis.
Lipid Nanoparticle Self-assembly for mRNA Vaccine Production
Controlling the size of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in small-batch pharmaceutical processes is critical for delivery efficiency in mRNA vaccines, cancer therapies, and point-of-care diagnostics. In this case study, Veryst simulated solvent mixing and LNP self-assembly kinetics in a microfluidic mixer to predict the size distribution of LNPs across a range of process flow conditions.
Osteotome Fracture
An osteotome unexpectedly failed during a plastic surgery operation. Veryst was hired to explain the failure.
Oxygen Transport and Cellular Uptake in a Microchannel
Oxygen transport is a key factor in the design of cell culture systems such as organs-on-a-chip, microphysiological systems, and bioreactors. In this case study, we use multiphysics simulation to analyze oxygen transport and cellular uptake in a model microchannel bioreactor.

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