Title: DETECTION OF CAVITATION ON MECHANICAL HEART VALVES IN IN-VITRO BLOOD TESTING BASED ON SONOLUMINESCENCE AND ITS AMPLIFICATION WITH XENON GAS
Abstract: Mechanical heart valves (MHVs) can be damaged by cavitation. Observing sonoluminescence (SL) from cavitation bubbles enables the detailed analysis of the violent cavity collapse, which actually induces adverse effects. Our observation method based on SL was applied to in-vitro cavitation tests using blood. In this study, xenon gas was introduced to enhance light emission in MHV testing. A photon counting system was developed using a photomultiplier tube. The MHV closure triggered the photon counter. Photons were recorded for 3.5 msec from every MHV closure and were accumulated through 500 beats. Cavitation was analyzed in terms of the number of photons and patterns of light emissions. A 20-mm Björk-Shiley valve was used as the specimen. The valve was submerged in a 2.5-L water tank, and a pressure difference of 120 mmHg was exerted on the MHV at 60 bpm with a pulse duplicator. First, the effect of xenon was confirmed using deionized water as a blood analog. Due to bubbling of xenon gas, light emission from cavity collapse was increased approximately 60 times. Next, goat blood was diluted to 1, 5 and 10 vol% with saline and these blood samples were used. For all blood samples, no light could be observed without xenon. Xenon gas, thus, effectively amplified SL so that it was observed successfully even in blood samples. Xenon gas can be used for anesthesia as well as for light amplification. Therefore the results of this study in in-vitro blood tests are promising for future in-vivo observations of MHV cavitation based on SL.
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 1
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot