The development by employees of the Vitebsk Technological University saved the lives of 47 people

March 17, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. A development by employees of the Department of Knitting Technology of the Vitebsk State Technological University (VSTU) - a supporting device for heart ventricles for patients with cardiomyopathy - has saved the lives of 47 people in two years, assistant professor Irina Thoreva told a BELTA correspondent. The development was carried out jointly with specialists from the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Cardiology under the leadership of Professor Yuri Ostrovsky. In cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle is primarily affected. One of the signs of the disease is an enlarged heart, which causes the organ to lose its pumping function and consequently disrupts blood circulation. At the request and in collaboration with the RSPC, Vitebsk specialists developed both the design of the supporting device and the material for its manufacture. The product is designed for lifelong functioning and does not have a negative impact on the human body. After successfully passing clinical trials and obtaining a registration certificate from the Ministry of Health, the production of the product has been mastered at the experimental pilot plant of VSTU. In 2008-2009, specialists from the RSPC "Cardiology" performed 47 operations to implant the supporting device. The product is a flexible knitted shell that is essentially placed on the diseased heart. During the work, specialists from the Vitebsk university developed the material structure, created an optimal product design, and also proposed the use of radiation sterilization for the product. Research results showed that this particular sterilization method does not cause changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the product. VSTU specialists have patented the artificial material used for its manufacture. The domestic development is an order of magnitude cheaper than foreign analogues. The VSTU experimental pilot plant is ready to produce the product in the quantities necessary for complex operations. -0-