Filter Bench Test Setup

Project Summary

Atrial fibrillation is a medical condition resulting in an irregular heart rate. This erratic heart motion often causes blood clots to form in the left atrial appendage. Boston Scientific released the WATCHMAN™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device. The WATCHMAN device is a frame with a filtering fabric. This fabric is intended to keep blood clots inside the device until it is covered in tissue closing off the left atrial appendage. Future changes to the fabric or WATCHMAN device could change the ability to filter particles from going through the device. Boston Scientific needs a bench test setup that can quantify the ability of filtration fabric to filter particles.

Design Goal

The goal of this project is to design and develop a proof-of-concept prototype that can assess the performance of the WATCHMAN device in filtering particles accurately.

Design Constraints

• Cost - The prototype must cost less than $4,000 to create.
• Size - The prototype must fit in a 3-by-3 ft area.
• Time - It must take less than 5 minutes to test a filter.
• Ease of Use - The prototype must be easy to use.
• Accurate - The data collected must be accurate.