BIOENGINEERING
William Federspiel, PhD
302E Benedum Hall | 3700 O’Hara Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15261
William Kepler Whiteford Professor, Professor of Bioengineering, Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Chemical Engineering, Director, Medical Devices Laboratory
Under the direction of Dr. William Federspiel, the Medical Devices Laboratory is developing highly translatable medical devices by utilizing bio and chemical engineering principles such as biotransport, mass transfer, and fluid mechanics. Advanced respiratory assist devices for patients with acute and chronic lung injuries are being designed and investigated, in addition to particle-based adsorption technologies for the removal of targeted solutes from whole blood for the treatment of pathogenic
P: 412-383-9499
wfedersp@pitt.edu www.mcgowan.pitt.edu/medicaldevices
reactions. Biotransport modeling, computational fluid dynamics, and in vitro and in vivo testing are employed in the development of these medical devices. The highly collaborative research efforts of the Medical Devices Laboratory combine the expertise and strengths of academic researchers, clinicians, and industrial partners. Translation of research into formal product development and clinical trials is a primary focus of the laboratory so that the technological advancements can benefit those in need.
Respiratory Assist Devices Each year nearly 350,000 Americans die of some form of lung disease. To address the limitations of existing methods of respiratory support, such as mechanical ventilation (MV) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the Medical Devices Lab is developing respiratory assist devices that could provide improved treatment. The Modular Extracorporeal Lung (ModEL) integrates a blood pump and highly efficient gas exchanging unit into a wearable device intended to replace ECMO and MV as a bridge to transplant or recovery during lung failure. The modular design enables configuration of the device with different gas-exchanging units depending on the type of support needed, resulting in a respiratory assist platform technology able to treat a variety of adult, and even pediatric, patients. Prior work in this area within the Medical Devices Lab led to the commercialization and market approval of the Hemolung Respiratory Assist System, a product of ALung Technologies. Development of novel bioactive coatings to improve device efficiency and hemocompatibility is also a focus of the Medical Devices Lab. Current efforts focus on the use of zwitterionic copolymers to reduce intra-device thrombus formation and carbonic anhydrase to enhance CO2 removal efficiency.
Blood Conditioning Devices Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response due to an infection, is a major health problem that kills nearly 250,000 Americans each year and costs upwards of $20 billion annually. The Medical Devices Lab is designing novel extracorporeal blood purification devices to reduce organ damage in sepsis. These devices alter leukocyte response by selectively removing excess cytokines from circulation or ‘reprogramming’ immune cell behavior through cell-cell interactions. These treatments are hypothesized to both improve clearance of infection and reduce injury to remote organs. A device which removes blood antibodies to generate universal donor plasma is also under development. After treatment, the universal plasma can be safely transfused to all patients, regardless of blood type.
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DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING
