18 M A Y 2 0 0 4 T R I B O L O G Y & L U B R I C A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y

20 Minutes With…

Following a distinguishedcareer in academia, government and business,he is engaged in pioneeringresearch on heart-assistdevices that could savethousands of lives.

Said JahanmirSaid Jahanmir

By Thomas T. AstrenePublisher

Resume■ MiTiHeart Corp. (subsidiary of Mohawk Innova-

tive Technology, Inc.), president & CEO, 2002-present.

■ National Institute of Standards and Technology,leader of Ceramic Mfg. Group, 1987-2002.

■ National Science Foundation, director of tribol-ogy program, 1985-1987.

■ Exxon Research and Engineering Co., seniorresearch engineer, 1980-1985.

■ Cornell University, assistant professor ofmechanical engineering, 1977-1980.

■ University of California at Berkeley, lecturer,1976-1977.

■ MIT, instructor, 1975-1976.

Education■ MIT, doctorate and master’s of science in

mechanical engineering.■ University of Washington, bachelor’s of science.

Affiliations■ STLE

• Honorary Member• Fellow• Chair of the Ceramics and Fellows Nominations Committees

■ ASME• Fellow• Vice President for Research• Chair of the Board on Research and Technology Development• Technical program chair for the 2004 International

Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition• General chair for the ASME 125th Anniversary

■ American Society for Artificial Internal Organs■ International Society of Rotary Blood Pumps

Honors■ STLE International Award■ ASME Mayo D. Hersey Award■ ASME Dedicated Service Award■ Federal Laboratory Consortium Technology Transfer Award■ Montgomery County Civic Federation Community Hero Award■ Listed in Who’s Who in America■ Listed in Who’s Who of American Men and Women of Science

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What were some of your earlier experi-ences in tribology, and what attractedyou to this kind of work?

I became involved in tribology through aninteresting coincidence, which was then fol-lowed by a series of events that shaped mycareer.

I had applied to MIT for graduate workduring my senior year at the University ofWashington. I had indicated on my applica-tion that I was interested in pursuingresearch in mechanics of materials, particu-larly in plasticity.

Early one spring morning I received a callfrom professor Nam Suh, who offered me aposition in his group working on dynamicplasticity. I was quite excited that I hadbeen accepted to MIT and was given a greatopportunity to continue my education atthe world’s leading engineering school.

At the close of the conversation profes-sor Suh said, “I look forward to seeing youin the fall.” I reminded him that I planned tofinish my course work in December. In thosedays the University of Washington had aquarter system, and, after taking a couplesummer sessions, I was graduating twoquarters earlier than the rest of my graduat-ing class. Since I did not want to miss theapplication deadlines, I had applied early inspring for the following year.

Professor Suh then said, “In that case Iwill have to review your application and callyou back in the fall.” He did call me in thefall, and I started at MIT in January. Since Inoticed that Suh was associated with MIT’sSurface Laboratory, I decided to take anelective course on Friction and Lubrication.I found the subject fascinating and chal-lenging since it was a blend of various dis-ciplines such as physics, chemistry,mechanics and materials science.

When I arrived at MIT I learned that thestudent who came before me in the fallalready took the project on dynamic plas-ticity. Nevertheless, I was asked to read theliterature on the subject and proposesome new experiments. After an exhaus-tive literature survey, I was ready to startnew experiments with the Hopkinson barevaluating damage mechanics in metals

under impact loading. At the time I arrived

at MIT, Dr. Suh hadbeen asked to teach arequired undergradu-ate course on Mechani-cal Behavior of Materi-als. He had concernsabout the existing text-book and started devel-oping his own book. Hewas questioning thebasis of the adhesivewear theories, one of the topics to beincluded in the textbook, and directed meto do a literature search on sliding wear anderosion and particularly evaluate the defor-mation and fracture aspects.

I embarked on a new comprehensive lit-erature search and reported my assess-ment. He became convinced that the adhe-sion theory was not quite correct and thatdeformation and fracture issues had notbeen addressed adequately.

It was during this period that he came upwith a new theory that became the topic ofmy thesis. “The Delamination Theory ofWear” was based on near surface deforma-tion and dislocation motion that lead tomicrofracture of thin wear debris. It was aunique and novel approach and, therefore,controversial. I enjoyed the challenge andmanaged to verify the new theory throughexperimental evidence and theoreticalanalysis that convinced some of the critics.

Where did you go from there?

I have been blessed with great mentors andunique challenges that helped shape mydiverse tribology background. After spend-ing a few years at the University of Califor-nia at Berkeley and Cornell University,where I conducted research on wear anderosion and taught materials engineeringand manufacturing, I was attracted to ExxonResearch and Engineering Co. by Dr. TrugottFisher.

There I became involved with a researchproject investigating the fundamentalissues related to boundary lubrication. We

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

MiTiHeart president Dr.Said Jahanmir (left) andchief scientist John Williswith Rusty the cow just 50minutes after the implan-tation of a left ventricleassist device (LVAD). It wasthe second test of thepump, which lasted 200hours in the three-month-old calf.

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carried out a lot of critical experiments tounderstand how lubricant additivesadsorbed and reacted with metallic sur-faces. During that time, there was muchpublicity about the unlubricated adiabaticheat engines that would someday replaceall automotive engines. The prospects oflosing the engine oil business concernedsome of the top Exxon managers. Dr. Fisch-er was asked to develop a new project ontribology of ceramics. I joined his group andaccepted the challenge of working on newmaterials.

Several years later, I had another early-morning call from professor Suh, who hadrecently taken a position as assistant direc-tor at NSF. He invited me to leave Exxonand head the new tribology program he hadjust initiated. I tremendously enjoyed thetime I spent at NSF but I missed research.Dr. Steve Hsu convinced me to join NISTwhere we carried out an exciting programon wear of advanced ceramics. I was fortu-nate to closely work with a great group oftribologists that included Dr. Bill Ruff, LewIves and the late Marshall Peterson.

A few years later, I established theCeramic Machining Consortium, which wasa unique partnership between industry,academia and federal laboratories. Work-

ing jointly as ateam, we devel-oped a compre-hensive set of dataand guidelines forceramic grinding. Iwas gratified thatmuch of this infor-mation was imple-mented in indus-trial practice.

How did you getinvolved in biotri-bology?

During this period Ialso becameinvolved with aunique programfunded by NIH

studying the wear and machining issuesrelated to dental ceramics and composites.One of the interesting features of this effortwas the opportunity to work closely withseveral dentists and to see how engineeringand tribology in particular could help themin their field. It also offered insight into thecommunications challenges between engi-neers and the medical community.

Engineering and dentistry each havetheir own set of terms and vernacular. Com-municating engineering concepts and prin-ciples to others while also trying to under-stand the needs in widely disparate disci-plines is one of the most important roles anengineer must master. While I didn’t know itat the time it turned out that this communi-cation experience with the medical fieldwould prove extremely useful to me in justa short time span.

About 18 months ago Dr. HooshangHeshmat offered me a challenging newopportunity. He indicated that his company,Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc. (MiTi®),had decided to establish a new subsidiaryfocusing on the development and market-ing of a new blood pump. I was particularlyattracted to his offer because of the newchallenge it offered, the chance to collabo-rate with a very creative and innovative tri-bologist, and the opportunity to apply thewide array of skills developed throughoutmy career in a new venue. After 30 years ofbasic research and program management,this opportunity was very exciting since itwould provide me with a chance to use mydiverse technical background and leader-ship skills by taking an idea and developinga unique life-saving product.

Please describe MiTiHeart® Corp. – itsstructure, staff, facilities and areas ofresearch?

Well, before MiTiHeart® could be formed itwas imperative that the company’s overallreason for existence, the specific offering,be established and the overall businessplan prepared. As with any new endeavor,this required an in-depth knowledge of thetechnical subject, competition, business

‘Our mission is

clearly stated in

our motto

“committed to

prolonging life.”’

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The newest version of the LVAD pump, designed and manu-factured this year, is made of a titanium alloy and will be test-ed on a calf. MiTiHeart personnel are hoping the pump willfunction for five days.

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environment, key people in the field—espe-cially on the medical side—and the regula-tory issues.

After coming up to speed, so to speak,and preparing an overall strategy, MiTi-Heart® was incorporated in February of lastyear as the first subsidiary of MiTi®. Thepurpose of our company is to design,develop, manufacture and distribute third-generation blood pumps with superior per-formance to prolong life of patients withcongestive heart failure. We chose thecompany name using the trademark ofMohawk Innovative Technology, Inc.(MiTi®), and Heart to emphasize our corebusiness.

The management team includes severalmanagers and scientists from MiTi®, includ-ing me and Dr. Heshmat as chairman of theboard. We have very direct ties to MiTi®.Currently all R&D activities as well as man-ufacturing is carried out at MiTi®’s labora-tories, where we have talented individualsand state-of-the-art research and manufac-turing facilities.

We have established a medical advisoryboard with two internationally renownedcardiologists and surgeons from the Univer-sities of Illinois and Michigan and are cur-rently in the process of recruiting two newmembers from the Hershey Medical Centerand Johns Hopkins University.

We plan to continue a close relationshipbetween MiTi® and MiTiHeart®. Initially allR&D will stay at MiTi®. During the past year Ihave been actively seeking equity capitalfinancing to establish the business office inMaryland. It has been an interesting chal-lenge during the time that venture fundinghas been drastically reduced. But the futurelooks bright as positive signs are emerging.

We are delighted that we have beenselected to exhibit at the next World’sBest Technologies event organized bythe National Association of Seed andVenture Funds and the Federal Labora-tory Consortium for Technology Trans-fer. We are one of only 25 companiesthat have been selected to make anoral presentation to the entire group.

How interdisciplinary is your work?

While the primary focus of MiTiHeart® is onthe heart pump, and this has been an activeproject at MiTi® since 1996, we are alsoengaged in exciting research on biosensorsand biocompatible coatings, both neededfor the blood pump. This points out one ofthe issues I mentioned earlier, that while weengineers may tend to think in terms of thepump design, its efficiency and robustness,there are many other disciplines that mustbe taken into account when developing apump for human use.

Also, communication between diversedisciplines is needed. We need to under-stand many of the human physiologicalneeds such as flow, pressure and biocom-

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This illustration shows theposition of the LVAD in thehuman body. To reduceinfections, all exposed sur-faces of the pump must bemade with bio- and hemo-compatible coatings.

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‘According to the

American Heart

Association, more

than 4.5 million

Americans suffer

from congestive heart

failure, a debilitating

disease in which the

heart muscles

become too weak to

provide sufficient

pumping action.’

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patibility, blood rheology and those fea-tures of the pump design that may damagethe blood.

We have been very fortunate to obtainseveral SBIR grants from NIH, both from theHeart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)and Bio-Imaging and Biosensors Institute(NIBIB) for our work on the blood pump andthe biosensors. Our intention is to incorpo-rate the sensors into the blood pump tomonitor the patients’ hemodynamic (orpressure and flow) needs and vary the pumpperformance accordingly.

Our mission is clearly stated in ourmotto “committed to prolonging life.” Thestrong link between MiTiHeart® Corp. andMiTi® gives us access to a world-renownedgroup of tribologists and engineers, andwe plan to continue MiTi®’s traditions andcorporate values. We want to establish aunique company with talented and devot-ed individuals with a diverse technicalbackground to use multidisciplinaryknowledge and develop blood pumps thatwill save lives.

Why is there a need for mechanical heart pumps, and whatattracted a tribology-related company tobecome involved in this technology?

Let me first describe the problem and tellyou about the pumps that are being used orbeing developed. According to the Ameri-can Heart Association, more than 4.5 mil-lion Americans suffer from congestive heartfailure, a debilitating disease in which theheart muscles become too weak to providesufficient pumping action. Unfortunatelythis problem is getting worse as half a mil-lion new cases are diagnosed every year.

The condition of more than 100,000 ofthese patients is very serious. Only 2,200 ofthese patients receive heart transplants, therest must resort to medication or rely onmechanical devices. While the current drugtherapy treatment provides a survival rate ofonly 25%, the mechanical devices doublethe survival rate. However, the presentdevices are based on 25-year-old technologyand are prone to cause some serious prob-

lems. Nevertheless, they are used in morethan 3,000 patients while they wait for aheart transplant or as a therapeutic remedy.

As new devices are developed and ap-proved by the FDA, it is estimated thatsome day the lives of 100,000 Americanscan be prolonged. Of course, these num-bers become much larger when we considerthe patients outside the U.S. Althoughaccurate data is not available for mostcountries, a conservative estimate increasesthese numbers by a factor of three to four.

How do the devices work?

These pumps are implanted inside thechest or abdominal cavity. They areattached to the left ventricle and pumpblood to the aorta; therefore, they arereferred to as the Left Ventricular AssistDevices or LVAD for short. These devices aregenerally divided into three generations.

The first-generation devices that havebeen approved by the FDA for commercialuse were initially designed more than 25years ago. They operate in a pulsatilemode to mimic the pulsating action of theheart. They are implanted in the body, butcables and tubes come out through theskin and connect to a control unit on acart. As one can imagine, the mechanicalcomplexity of these devices are prone tomalfunctions, including wear, and causeblood damage and serious infections that Iwill describe later.

The second-generation devices weredesigned in the late 1980s. They are rotarypumps with either centrifugal pumping oraxial pumping action. The electronics andthe batteries are worn on a belt and providepatient mobility. The mechanical bearings,either ceramic jewel bearings or hydrody-namic type bearings used as the only load-support mechanism, can cause blood dam-age due to high shear rates or blood clotsdue to flow stagnations. The bearings arealso a potential source for wear and devicemalfunction. This second generation, how-ever, is definitely better than the olderdevices. However, the percutaneous cablesstill pose a serious infection problem.

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These devices are mostly in clinical trialsand will probably be approved by the FDAwithin 3-5 years.

The new third-generation devices usemagnetic levitation to eliminate the prob-lems associated with mechanical bearings.They also use a new technology to transmitelectrical power through the skin toimplanted rechargeable batteries. The tran-scutaneous energy transfer system (orTETS) gives patients full mobility and thefreedom to remove the bulky belts andcharging systems for a period of time toallow for daily activities such as taking abath or swimming.

The magnetic levitation system removesthe potential wear problem since no con-tact takes place during pump operation. Themedical community is currently seekingdevices that can be used reliably and con-tinuously for five years, especially for heartfailure patients that do not qualify for hearttransplantation due to such reasons as ageor medical complications. Four companies,including us, are presently developingthird-generation pumps. We are all in thepre-clinical animal testing stage.

The first version of the blood pump weare presently developing was actuallydesigned for pumping liquid oxygen forlong-term space applications. This wasdone with NASA funding. Of course, one ofthe issues with pumping liquid oxygen is toavoid the generation of high-temperatureasperity contacts. Magnetic bearings werequite suitable for this task.

At that point Dr. Heshmat, rememberinghis undergraduate project at Penn State onmechanical heart pumps, suggested thatthe same pump might be suitable forpumping blood. Some internal funding wasused to develop the idea further and pre-pare an application for NIH funding. Well,the rest is history. The grants MiTi® hasreceived from the National Heart, Lung andBlood Institute have brought us to thispoint. I must also add that along the waywe received great encouragement and guid-ance from NHLBI program managers andsenior advisors. We are indebted to Dr.

Frank Ateiri and Dr. Tom Wat-son, who have since retired,and Dr. Tim Baldwin, our pres-ent program manager.

What are the particular problems and challengesunique to this kind ofresearch and how have youovercome them?

Designing a mechanical pumpis a simple task for a mechani-cal engineer who has beentrained as a tribologist. However, designinga pump that works inside the body andkeeps the patient alive, is not a simple mat-ter. Besides the obvious problem of tissuebiocompatibility associated with the pumphousing and cables, one must pay particu-lar attention to the hemocompatibility.Blood does not react too kindly towardman-made materials. Assuming there is aproblem, it tries to cover the foreign materi-al through blood clot formation. Therefore,all exposed surfaces should be covered witha bio- and hemocompatible coating. Theclot formation is also accentuated whenblood encounters flow stagnation.

Conversely, if blood is subjected to highshear rates, the red blood cells can rupturein a process called hemolysis. The damagedblood cells can cause serious organ damageand failure when they are circulatedthrough the body. The challenge is to prop-erly design the pump flow path to avoidstagnations and high shear rates, yet con-tinuously pump about 5 liters/minute. Thenew computational fluid dynamic simula-tions are commonly used to analyze bloodflow thorough LVADs. In fact CFD hasbecome a more or less standard softwaretool in this technology.

Our pump has one of the lowest indicesof hemolysis compared to other bloodpumps and requires about half as muchpower to operate. These features, com-bined with the wide blood flow paths andthe non-contact magnetic bearings, give usa reliable pump with low blood damagethat is being developed for long-term

The operation on Rusty thecow took four hours andwas conducted by a teamof surgeons and veterinari-ans at the Hersey MedicalCenter at Penn State Uni-versity. The stitches arejust being closed in thisphoto, and a bit of theLVAD pump is visible just tothe right of the surgeon’sgloved hand.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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implantation in patients with congestiveheart failure. The low power usage alsoallows for the use of small batteries andreduces the need for frequent batteryrecharges, both of which will help toimprove the patient’s quality of life.

While we are considered a relative new-comer to this field, we are one of the firstengineering led teams to develop an LVADand have obtained several U.S. patents onthis technology. Up to this point, teams ledby MDs had developed all previous LVADs.

How did you test your pump?

After we constructed and successfullybench-tested our first prototype, which wasmade out of polycarbonate, we subjectedthe pump to an in vivo or live animal test.Although, the pump was not designed forimplantation, we wanted to establishimplantation procedures, verify that itwould work in a real environment and iden-tify areas for improvement before signifi-cant additional investments were made.Basically, we wanted to complete a quicksanity check of our design in areas that can-not be duplicated in bench top experi-ments, namely thrombus formation (orblood clots).

The first implant was completed at Penn-sylvania State University’s Hershey MedicalCenter, one of the pioneers in the develop-ment of LVADs and total artificial hearts.This was our first lesson in the value andimportance of conducting early animalstudies before designs are too far along.Even though the pump had successfullycompleted over 33 days of continuous oper-ation at MiTi® in preparation for the animaltest, it ceased to operate near the end ofthis planned one-hour, short-term test.When the pump was taken out and disas-sembled we found thrombus formationinside the pump.

The team of bioengineers and surgeonswho were involved in the implantation andare quite experienced in this technologywere encouraged by the results and helpedus identify the necessary modifications tothe pump that would be needed before oursecond test. Fortunately, the modifications

were minor and not related to the basicdesign of the pump but more toward manu-facturing.

We also decided that since our secondtest would be much longer in duration, abiocompatible coating to reduce the poten-tial for thrombus formation should be used.So Dr. John Willis, our biochemist, devel-oped a proprietary bio- and hemocompati-ble coating and applied it to the pump usedin the next test. We were all quite nervousduring the operation. This time the test wassuccessful, and we completed 200 hours ofcontinuous operation.

Since the purpose of any test such asthis, and especially ones for life supportsystems, is to learn where the design can beimproved, we closely scrutinized the pumpafter testing to identify areas for improve-ment. We have made some design changesto reduce the potential for flow stagnation,designed and incorporated a redundanthydrodynamic bearing and constructed anew prototype from a titanium alloy. Theredundant bearing is used as a backup bear-ing in case of failure of the magnetic bear-ing or if the pump is subjected to a severeshock due to an accidental fall of thepatient. We are anxious to see the next ani-mal test sometime in the next couple ofmonths.

I should emphasize that this technologyarea is truly interdisciplinary, in somerespects similar to tribology. In fact tribolo-gy plays a major role in this technology. Weall know that bearing design and lubricationare integral parts of tribology. The attentionthat must be given to the blood flow, use ofReynolds equation, blood rheology, surfaceroughness and surface chemistry and theneed for well-adhered hemocompatiblecoatings and biocompatible materials andcoatings all share common grounds withthe principles of tribology.

To add to the complexity, we must alsointegrate knowledge from biochemistry andmedical technology. The challenge associat-ed with the complexity of this technologyand the potential gratification of seeing aproduct that we develop save many lives,attracted me to MiTiHeart®. For the first

‘We are humbled

by the chance we

have been given

to save the lives of

thousands in the

future.’

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time in my career, I would be directlyinvolved in the process of product transi-tion from R&D to market.

Describe some of the non-technicalissues.

For a small and new company such as ours,we cannot possibly address all the technicaland non-technical issues. We have beenvery fortunate to have an excellent team ofscientists and surgeons at the Penn StateHershey Medical Center work with us on ourpreclinical animal trials. We are grateful toprofessor Bill Weiss, and doctors Lukic, Paeand Prophet. We are now planning toexpand our collaborative efforts to includea team of scientists from Argonne NationalLaboratory.

We have a long road ahead of us. This isjust the nature of this type of technologythat is intended to save precious lives. Wemust conduct numerous performance testsincluding durability testing; then we mustconduct a large number of preclinical ani-mal trials to make sure our pump functionsproperly. These are followed by closelymonitored clinical trials, all necessary priorto obtaining FDA approval. We are humbledby the chance we have been given to savethe lives of thousands in the future.

Would you like to make any final comments?

I have enjoyed tremendously my associa-tion with MiTi® and MiTiHeart®. I am astrong believer in the concept of lifelonglearning. This position has given me theopportunity of learning something newevery day and meeting new people withdiverse backgrounds. My multidisciplinarytribology education and career has givenme a deep appreciation for the pursuit ofknowledge beyond a narrow single-disci-pline subject.

I often tell my younger co-workers theyshould not be afraid of taking on new proj-ects in unfamiliar subjects. I tell them thatthey should be flexible and seek knowledgefor knowledge sake. Some day an opportu-nity might arise to integrate what has beenlearned.

I would be remiss if I do not mention thegreat influence that my mentors, friends,colleagues, post docs and students havehad on my career. I come from a culture inwhich friendship is valued and elders arerespected. My mentors were my seniors,and our relationship began as mentor andmentee. But through the years, we havebecome friends. I cannot possibly includethe name of all those who helped me enjoymy tribology career, but I take this opportu-nity to thank them all. I must add that mywife and our two sons, who have literallyfollowed my footsteps at MIT, have been mybest supporters and have provided me theinspiration to always seek and tackle newchallenges.

I believe that success requires devotionand passion, along with patience and, ofcourse, funding. We are off to a good startand I know we will succeed. <<

Dr. Said Jahanmir can be reached at sjahanmir@mitiheart.com.

Mike Albertini (left)holds an anatomicallycorrect model of thehuman heart, completewith all internal andvalve functions. He andchief scientist JohnWillis are checking theconnections betweenthe heart and the LVAD.

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