Advanced Design Optimization
About Us
Here are some of our success stories:
Miniature PediaFlow® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (PVAD)
(for 3~20Kg patients, 0.3~1.5L/min)
This project spanned over 9 years, and involved four major generations of design: initially a miniature centrifugal pump. This was
a collaborative project supported by NIH between LaunchPoint, LLC, U. Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Children’s Hospital
of Pittsburgh, and WorldHeart, Inc. Our software was used at each stage of the project to guide the design process, and ultimately
achieve unprecedented performance and biocompatibility. Highlights include:
World’s smallest magnetically-levitated rotodynamic ventricular
assist device for infants and toddlers with congenital and acquired heart disease.
Our simulation & design software was used for:
Design and optimization of the entire blood flow path; simulation of blood damage, heat-transfer, unsteady flow, fluid
dynamic instability, and rotordynamics.
PF1: Remarkably low blood trauma (index of hemolysis = 0.0087 ± 0.0024 g/100L in-vitro, and
the mean plasma free hemoglobin < 13.3 ± 7.9 mg/dL in-vivo).
PF4: Virtually un-measurable level of hemolysis and platelet activation with a very stable and smooth wide operational flow range upto 2.0 L/min due to the utilization of our advanced optimization technology and CFD analysis of fluid dynamics instability.
Levacor® (Former World Heart Corporation): Magnetically-levitated rotodynamic centrifugal
VAD for adult patients. The device was designed and optimized by using our CFD-based design optimization software. It successfully
passed through a serial of animal trials and dozens of clinical trials.
MiFlow™ (HeartWare, Inc): Magnetically-levitated small size,
less invasive, mixed-flow VAD for adult patients. The pump was designed and optimized by using our CFD-based design optimization technology.
It shows exceptional dynamic performance as validated by in-vitro testing.
Huge Hydro-Turbines and Pump-Turbines
A Francis Turbine Rehabilitation Project: An experimentally validated peak prototype efficiency of 95.3% was gained with the optimized design by our technology, more than 3.3% higher than the original model. The optimized design also led to a 23% increase in power with a thoroughly improved cavitation characteristic over a wider range of operation compared to the original design. For details, please click here.
Other major projects include the design and development of splitter-blades Francis turbine, bulb-turbine and a pump-turbine,
which have all been verified to provide high efficiency, smooth
operational range, and negligible cavitation.
Recognition by the world’s most renowned experts in the field
Testimonials:
"Dr. Jingchun Wu has made transformational contributions to the design of turbodynamic blood pumps suitable for adult
and pediatric heart failure patients. His seminal work has led to the design of a miniaturized implantable pump and blood flow
path in a high RPM system that achieves exceptional cellular biocompatibility over extended durations of pump implant.
Dr. Wu’s 1st author
publication, “Computational Fluid Dynamics-Based Design Optimization for an Implantable Miniature Maglev Pediatric Ventricular Assist
Device” (Journal of Fluids Engineering, April 2012, Volume 134) is a “must read” for those interested in this area of research/design.”
By: Harvey S. Borovetz, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Former Chair, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
“Dr. Jingchun Wu is a recognized expert in CFD analyses whose knowledge of numerical simulation and fluid mechanics were invaluable on a recent innovative project. His ability to translate complex situations into practical engineering data allowed us to accelerate the design process. The validation of the simulations through experimental testing was remarkable.”
By: Jeffrey A. LaRose, Chief Scientific Officer, HeartWare, Inc.
“Having now worked with Dr. Jingchun Wu for over 10 years,
I can confidently say that he is one of the world’s leading experts in CFD and optimization design for blood pumps. With his vast
knowledge and diverse expertise in CFD, numerical simulation and advanced design methods of turbomachinery, he has been able to design
and optimize the flow paths of various adult and pediatric blood pumps, such as Levacor® and PediaFlow®, which have all achieved high
performance and excellent biocompatibility as validated experimentally or by clinical trials.”
By: James Antaki, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering & Computer Science, Cornell University.
"Dr. Jingchun Wu has provided invaluable
design insights and greatly improved the design of miniature blood pumps for my team. He not only has the ability to rapidly
produce appropriate models and meshing but has a keen understanding of the significance of the modeled flows. I would recommend
him to anyone who needs to optimize turbomachinery”.
By: John Woodard, Ph.D., Founder & Director at CreateRx, the former Vice President of WorldHeart Corporation.
“I've found that Dr. Jingchun Wu's approach to turbomachinery design is
highly innovative and nearly spot-on in terms of simulating what you are going to see in the experimental results. He has been
invaluable in the work that I have been doing.”
By: Gill Bearnson, Ph.D., Technical Staff Scientist, HeartWare, Inc.
