The Department of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston
Department of Pediatrics
The Department of Pediatric Surgery

Translational Laboratories

 


Advanced Medical Devices

Design of a fluid warming system

fluid warming systemHypothermia commonly occurs in trauma victims, with current therapeutic methods being either non-portable or heavy. Hypovolemia makes matters worse by requiring the first responder to administer fluids that can further depress core temperature. The effects of hypothermia significantly increase mortality rates, and initiate positive feedback loops that worsen a patient’s condition.
We have designed a de novo device that utilizes the release of energy from the catalytic combustion of butane rather than the typical electrical source. The gases produced as a result of combustion move through the center of a heat exchanger that transfers energy to the physiological fluid. A microprocessor monitors inlet and outlet temperature and controls the fuel flow rate. Testing has been performed in the lab both in vitro and in vivo.

The Technology developed in the Translational Laboratories to design a portable fluid warming system was recently licensed to EMIT Corporatin which is a biotechnology start-up company commercializing intellectual property in the field of trauma resuscitation.

 

Tesla pump fabrication

Early pump prototype Rendered conceptualization of pump

Gastrointestinal and cerebral edema measurement through real-time impedance analysis.

Electrospining Nanofibers

SEM image of electrospun nanofibers Electrospinning nanofibers as a biomedical scaffold device for measurement of intestinal strain.

Contact:

Karen K. Townsend
Research Coordinator
6431 Fannin Street, MSB 5.226
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: (713) 500-7309
E-mail: Karen.Kozielski@uth.tmc.edu