Mechanical Engineering

Cardiovascular Mechanics

Shamik Bhattacharya

Shamik Bhattacharya

Phone: 806.742.5073 x299
Email: shamik.bhattacharya@ttu.edu
Office: ME 133−D

Eduction

Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, (in progress)
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, ()
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Burdwan, India, ()

Areas of Research

  • Soft Tissue Mechanics
  • Heart Valve Mechanics
  • Biofluid Dynamics
  • Heart Valve Mechanobiology
  • Biomechanics

My research is annulus tension in the mitral valve (heart valve) and we have successfully measured it in−vitro in a static set up. Annulus tension (AT) can be defined as a leaflet force at the annulus per unit length of annulus perimeter. The knowledge of annulus tension can be used in optimizing the valve repair procedure. It can also be used to understand the interaction of annuloplasty ring with the native valve tissue. The rings make the understanding of the native annulus force conditions even more complicated and therefore it is necessary to understand the force distribution in the native mitral valve annulus first.

Bo Gao

Bo Gao

Phone: 806.742.5073 x297
Email: bo.gao@ttu.edu
Office: ESB 07

Education

Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, (in progress)
B.S., Mechanics, Peking University, China, (2002)

Areas of Research

  • Heart Valve Tissue Mechanics
  • Flow Simulation Through Heart Valves

Edge−to−edge repair is proved to be one of the most efficient ways to cure heart valve regurgitation in some pathologies. My research is to study tissue mechanics on the heart valve and provide information for heart valve surgeries.

Dr. Yingying Hu

Yingying Hu

Phone: 806.742.5073 x299
Email: yingying.hu@ttu.edu
Office: ESB 03

Eduction

Ph.D., Fluid Mechanics, Tsinghua University, (2001)

Areas of Research

  • Bio−Fluid Mechanics
  • Multi−Phase Flow
  • CFD

The following applications are involved in my research: blood flow, airflow in the lung, coaxial two−phase flow, bubble collapse, and cavitation.

Courtney N. Riggan

Courtney N. Riggan

Phone:
Email: courtney.riggan@ttu.edu
Office:

Eduction

M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, (2010)
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, (2008)

Areas of Research

  • Accelerated Wear Testing for Use with Artificial Heart Valves
  • Characterization of the Mitral Valve

There is a fundamental need for a better type of long−term testing for artificial heart valves and also for an artificial mitral valve that is biologically equivalent. Accelerated wear testing has been used for a period of time in the engineering field to test the failure modes of materials and devices, but has not been widely accepted in the medical devices area. The mitral valve is difficult to get to and therefore little is known about the leaflet motion. The lab has obtained a closed−system, compact, accelerated wear test apparatus designed for aortic valves, and nothing is known about the device. The lab deals exclusively with mitral valves. The objective of this study is to characterize and fully understand this accelerated wear test apparatus, to modify it to run with mitral valves and to define the mitral valve motion using pressure waveforms and leaflet motion. This was achieved by calibrating and verifying the device using an aortic valve which has a known pressure curve. The device was then modified to fit the mitral valve and the motor motion was measured to characterize the movement of the apparatus. A pressure waveform was obtained for the MV. Images of the MV were obtained for these pressures and orifice area was calculated. This information gives a clear understanding about the design and function of the device and of the mitral valve.

Dr. Liang Shi

Liang Sh

Phone:
Email: vector519@hotmail.com
Office:

Eduction

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, (2010)
M.S., Fluid Mechanics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, (2006)
B.S., Fluid Machinery and Engineering, Jiangsu University, China, (2001)

Areas of Research

  • PIV & Computational Simulation in Heart Valve Hemodynamics

We use both PIV and CFD techniques in exploring the left ventricle fluid mechanics under edge−to−edge repair. The specific vortex structure in left ventricle under different suture configurations may be related with different kinetic energy distribution inside ventricle. Therefore, the findings of this research may help us in exploring the changes of mechanical efficiency of left ventricle under ETER.

Kailiang Zhang

Kailiang Zhang

Phone: 806.742.5073 x299

Email: kailiang.zhang@ttu.edu

Office: ESB 03

Education

B.S., Engineering Mechanics, China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing, (2006)

  • Biomechanics
  • Heart Valve Mechanics