A new generation of QUT innovators are picking up the gauntlet to fight cardiovascular disease inspired by the university’s leading role in developing revolutionary artificial hearts.
Part of the Artificial Heart Frontiers Program (AHFP), QUT Professor Shaun Gregory, Director of the QUT Centre of Biomedical Technology and Professor in School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, is currently overseeing the development and commercialisation of the Mini-Pump for patients experiencing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
Over the coming years, the AHFP will develop a suite of next-gen devices including BiVACOR and a novel LVAD design to support all heart failure patients.
Now Professor Gregory is turning his hand to mentoring the QUT Heartbeats, a 25-strong team of undergraduate engineering students, as they prepare to compete in the prestigious global Heart Hackathon competition.
The year-long international challenge invites undergraduate and graduate student teams from across the world to design and build their own total artificial heart.
The Heartbeats will be the first Queensland-based team to do so.
Their goal? To create a novel, practical and potentially life-saving device while collaborating with world-leading researchers and industry experts.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide.
Many patients who suffer heart failure may ultimately require a transplant, but with donor hearts in short supply, mechanical solutions like the total artificial heart are essential.
Studying a Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) with a second major in Electrical Engineering, co-captain Eseosa Otabo said she was drawn to the Heart Hackathon competition because she wanted to do something tangible with her engineering skills.
“I wanted to apply my technical and scientific interests to something that would actually help people and benefit the world,” Eseosa said.
President of the Fellowship of Medical Engineers QUT, fellow co-captain Ruth Sliwa is a fourth year Bachelor of Medical Engineering (Honours) student with a second major in Mechanical Engineering.
“There are a lot of industry connections here at QUT, and the hands-on aspects really appealed to me,” she said.
“I really appreciate the fact that we get to go to gait analysis labs. We get to pick up hearts.”
While inspired by existing innovations like BiVACOR, the team are forging a new path, basing their design on the TORVAD – a fully implantable blood pump designed to increase cardiac output for patients with heart failure.
“The idea is to take two of them and smoosh them together like an Oreo to create the right size and function,” Ruth said.
Eseosa describes their latest protype as resembling “a doughnut (toroidal) with two pistons that control fluid flow”.
“We’re aiming to have the pistons be magnetically levitated, so they don't interact too much with the blood,” she said.
“Because it is doughnut shaped, you can put all the electronics and everything you need inside, allowing to be as compact as possible and we’re figuring out how to effectively use a motor and external magnetic attraction to move the pistons with minimal physical contact.
“Our ultimate goal is to create an artificial heart that could be implanted into any thoracic cavity. I think with how much research we've done so far, we're on a pretty good path.”
Structured into four key subgroups – mechanical, electrical, clinical and commerce – the Heartbeats are quickly learning that the team beats stronger as one and Ruth says the team dynamic has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.
“Shout out to our team leaders. The thing that has impressed me so much is how people are willing to step up and run with ideas. It’s really cool to see people come together, lead and contribute to such a large-scale project. That’s my favourite part,” she said.
While their international peers in the competition have been refining their models for years, the QUT team remains undeterred.
“There are some teams who have been working on it for four years, so obviously we're not going to compare to these titanium hearts that they've created, but I think our idea is strong,” Ruth said.
Professor Gregory, the team’s mentor, is a world-renowned expert in artificial heart technologies and founder of the Heart Hackathon program.
“He knows so much and has been exceedingly generous with his time,” Ruth said.
“He was so passionate about getting the QUT team up and running and from the minute it was first proposed, I was like, ‘Absolutely I’m in, 100 per cent.’
“It's a really cool way for students to ease into working as teams to create a physical object at the end. It’s where I find that I learn the most.”
As the first team from Queensland to enter, Professor Gregory said the Heartbeats were not just representing QUT but also showcasing the state's growing strength in the field of biomedical engineering.
“QUT is now the number one university in Australia and sixteenth globally for biomedical engineering,” Professor Gregory said.
“The Heart Hackathon provides our students with a unique and challenging platform to apply their specialised knowledge to complex, real-world challenges.
“Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death globally, and the students from this QUT team will graduate with the skills required to develop the next generation of devices to give patients longer and better lives.”
The Heart Hackathon runs until late 2025, with the grand final set to be held in Vienna at the ISMCS Conference.
Media contact:
Lauren Baxter
QUT Media
media@qut.edu.au
07 3138 2361 / 0407 585 901 (After Hours)
