The course is aimed at providing the students the proper methodologies to design and evaluate the performances of heart valve prostheses and extracorporeal circulation devices. After a short introduction recalling the basic physiology and energetics of the heart and the circulatory system, the main causes of blood hemolysis and coagulation will be discussed. Criteria about how to optimise, adjust and evaluate the performances of the deviced will be given. The students will acquire the ability to solve problems related to the interaction of the devices with blood. Moreover the course aims at bringing the students to make autonomous judgements about the possible solutions to be adopted.

Along the course clinical applications/implantation procedure and devices will be shown to the students either in the form of videos/slides or by showing real commercial devices.

Students will be brought to the Laboratory to observe and understand how experimental testing of the devices focused during the course is performed, so as to enhance understanding of the taught theory.

At the end of the course the students are expected to possess both know-how and know-why about the blood contacting devices and prostheses working conditions, constraints and design specifications.
Namely the students are expected:
- to know the main concepts about the design constraints and specifications of artificial heart valve prostheses and blood contacting devices;
- to know and deal with the main physical, mechanical, and chemical phenomena taking place in the devices;
- to be able to perform calculations to design, quantify, and evaluate, the performances of the devices;
- to be able to develop and apply know how to optimize the interaction with the living organism;
- to possess methods and skills to tackle and face innovation in this field of biomedical engineering.

The course is aimed at teaching design and evaluation criteria of artificial heart valve prostheses and extracorporeal circulation devices.

More specifically, the main subjects are the following:

- Survey  about cardiovascular system's functional anatomy and  physiology;

- Interaction between the cardiovascular and the artificial systems: hemolysis and coagulation;

- Design and evaluation criteria of mechanical and biological prosthetic heart valves;

- Design criteria for extracorporeal circuit devices and choice of the optimal vascular access;

- Layout of the extracorporeal circuit;

- Design and optimization of extra-corporeal blood pumps;

- Design of blood heat exchangers;

-Design of extracorporeal blood oxygenation devices;

-Design of blood filters.

International standards prescription related to the testing and the production of prosthetic heart valves and extracorporeal circulation devices will also be presented.

Practical class activities will deal with the solution of problems related to the design and setting of the studied Biomachines. Laboratory activities will be planned to allow the students to focus the experimental evaluation of the studied devices and the related instrumentation.

Attendance of the course Biomeccanica, is strongly advised. However, the main concepts from this course will be recalled at the beginning of the Biomachines (with Laboratory) course, and anytime these concepts should be essential to ease and deepen students' knowledge. 

The final exam will consist in  a written test  which, in specific cases, can be followed by an oral exam.

The students will be evaluated based on their capacity to answer teoretical questions about the subjects taught during the course and to frame them in a wider scenario. More specifically skills about knowledge and understanding and communications, will be evaluated.

In addition the students will be evaluated based on his/her capacity to establish connections among the different subjects dealt with during the course and among the course and the other attended courses. More specifically, students' skills in applying knowledge and understanding to problem solution, in making judgements about the possible technical choices, and in communication modalities to explain and assess the validity of the chosen methods, will be evaluated. 

The notes are available in pdf format on the Beep page of the course.