(Vienna, 3 December 2015) Francesco Moscato won the "Sezai Innovative Research Award" at the 23rd Congress of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps (Dubrovnik, Croatia). The presented study was regarded as the most innovative contribution of the congress. The title of the paper is "Numerical Simulation of LVAD Hemodynamics in Less Sick Patients", co-authored with M. Maw, C. Gross, T. Schlöglhofer, D. Zimpfer, and H. Schima.
The “Sezai Innovative Research Award” is sponsored by Professor Yukiyasu Sezai, former president of the Nihon University (Japan) and Honorary Board Member of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps. The award is given every year to the individual who contributes to the most innovative paper of the congress.
The mechanical support of the failing heart with implanted blood pumps is used in an increasing number of patients. The patients can perform daily activities at home, even light sport. However, their exercise tolerance remains limited. In this award-winning study Prof. Moscato and colleagues used a computer simulation model to investigate whether currently available devices can improve exercise tolerance once implanted in patients in an earlier stage of their disease (“less sick”). The simulation results indicated that a blood pump could indeed improve exercise capacity of these patients. Results however suggest that more powerful devices, which are able to automatically adapt to physiological demand, might be needed. This work is the result of the interdisciplinary cooperation between the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Cardiac Surgery, both at the Medical University of Vienna, as well as the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster for Cardiovascular Research and the Rehabilitation Center of the PVA.
Francesco Moscato is employed as Associate Professor at the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna. He received his master degree in 2004 at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Calabria (Italy). In 2008 he received his PhD degree as a result of research performed between the University of Calabria and the Medical University of Vienna. His research focuses on the noninvasive diagnostics in ventricular assist device patients and on mathematical, in-vitro as well as ex-vivo models of the cardiovascular dynamics. Overall, his efforts are directed towards a better understanding of reverse-remodeling and recovery processes in the failing heart from a biomechanical point of view.