Surgeon to Stars Saves Patient Lives With Shuttle Technology

By the time I was appointed NASA Administrator, Dr. Michael DeBakey had already become a celebrity professional in the medical community, known to heads of countries, business moguls, and even celebrities.?

In 1974, Dr. DeBakey treated President Richard Nixon, who underwent emergency surgery for a severe heart attack, and performed a quadruple bypass surgery on the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had been experiencing chest pain and was diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease. This intricate surgery extended the Shah's life for several more years. Renowned American singer Frank Sinatra also sought treatment from Dr. Michael DeBakey in 1965 when he began experiencing chest pain and was diagnosed with atherosclerosis. Sinatra successfully underwent a triple bypass surgery, which allowed him to live a long and fruitful life, continuing to perform and record music until his passing in 1998. In 1982, legendary American comedian and actor Jerry Lewis experienced severe chest pain and was subsequently diagnosed with serious heart issues. Dr. DeBakey performed a double bypass surgery on him, significantly improving his heart condition and enabling him to continue his career in entertainment for many more years.

This is just a short list of dignitaries and celebrities who requested Michael DeBakey to operate on them.?

Dr. Michael DeBakey was also an exceptional inventor and true creative in the field of cardiovascular surgery. While still at Tulane School of Medicine in 1928, he developed the revolutionary "roller pump," which greatly reduced the risk of damaging blood cells during heart procedures. In 1952, he and Dr. Cooley performed the first successful aortic aneurysm repair using a cadaver graft, and DeBakey later revolutionized vascular surgery by creating the first functional Dacron grafts. In 1964, he and his team accomplished the first successful coronary artery bypass using a transplanted leg vein, a procedure now performed on over 500,000 people annually. In 1966, Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful implantation of a ventricular assist device (VAD) that he had developed, effectively bypassing the left ventricle of the heart. Finally, in 1968, he and his team made medical history by performing the first successful heart transplant in the United States on a 47-year-old man, pushing the boundaries of cardiovascular medicine.

“I think human beings have an innate desire to help each other. And whether you're in medicine or anything else, if you see someone that you can help...you get a gratification from doing it. In fact, I think that is perhaps the most important, you might say, fabric that holds the society together.”

So, naturally, I became a kid when he approached me with a technical problem he wanted my help in solving. I couldn’t believe it. The famous Dr. Michael DeBakey, surgeon to the stars, wanted my help with problems he had encountered while developing a new even more impactful, miniaturized, safer and efficient version of his continuous flow Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), a mechanical heart pump.?

The continuous flow VAD was an incredibly innovative solution that could potentially save the lives of people worldwide who suffer from heart conditions requiring a transplant. While there are tens of thousands of people who need a heart transplant each year, the number of donor hearts available is extremely limited. Fewer than 3,000 heart transplants are performed each year in the United States alone. The VAD would function as a "bridge to heart transplant," pumping blood throughout the body to keep critically ill patients alive until a donor heart became available.

However, Dr. DeBakey and his team of biomedical engineers initially faced two significant challenges while developing the implantable VAD. Friction caused by the high shear flows through the pump? led to damaged blood cells. Additionally, stagnant regions in the pump caused dangerous blood clotting, a significant problem with ventricular assist devices.

To address the challenges encountered during the development of the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), I worked closely with Dr. DeBakey and the NASA CTO to find solutions. We were able to leverage the knowledge and innovation gained through our work designing, developing, and operating the Space Shuttle Main Engines. Our expertise in using supercomputers for simulation, particularly in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology. CFD utilizes numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems involving fluid flows and it is used to simulate fuel flow through the Space Shuttle's main engines. I recommended that we use CFD techniques to analyze blood flow through the VAD to identify potential blood stagnation locations and ensure that blood flow within the pump did not coagulate or create high shear flows. Additionally, I suggested employing experts in surface physics to create a smoother surface finish on the impeller, a worm-like component that helps pump blood without damaging individual blood cells. With the team's input and design improvements, we were able to drastically reduce red blood cell damage and eliminate stagnant regions, thus minimizing the risk of blood clot formation. These modifications allowed Dr. DeBakey to create a high-speed, small, and lightweight VAD based on turbine technology developed for liquid propellant rocket engines.?

By 1996, NASA patented the heart pump and licensed it exclusively to MicroMed Technology, Inc., of Houston, Texas. By November 1998, a 56-year-old male became the first patient to receive the “MicroMed DeBakey VAD”.?

Years after our collaboration, while I was at an event at the University of Padua in Italy, I received a call from none other than Dr. Michael DeBakey himself. He had exciting news to share with me. He had just done a check in with his first patient to receive the VAD and the patient was completely thriving!

For those who know me, the cross-section of two different disciplines completely excites me. Of course, I am biased to cross-sections when one of the foundational legs is space technology and science. Space technology, when collaboration is encouraged, can significantly impact non-space industries and improve lives through the transfer of advanced solutions. In 1966, memory foam, originally developed by NASA for spacecraft seating, revolutionized various industries such as bedding, sports equipment, and prosthetics. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, spurred advancements in CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) technology, benefiting digital imaging in sectors like medicine and consumer electronics. Additionally, the International Space Station's water purification system, developed in the early 2000s, has been adapted to provide clean drinking water in remote or disaster-stricken areas. These examples highlight the importance of space tech in shaping our modern world.

So naturally, during the process of the development of the VAD it was so exciting and humbling to witness how Dr. Michael DeBakey worked with the brilliant NASA engineers to combine state-of-the-art space and medical technologies to develop something completely new and important to humanity.?

However, even more humbling was to witness Dr. DeBakey’s genuine fulfillment in the process of invention and in the subsequent impact on human lives, at around 90 years old after a full life of success, rockstars and fame.?

To me, Dr. DeBakey is the embodiment of how I have always believed life should be lived. He was an experimenter, a creator, a lateral thinker and someone who used all those skills to improve the lives of others up until the day he stopped working.?

Many people ask me how I could possibly stand working 60-70 hours a week at my age. When I think of Dr. Michael DeBakey and how inspirational my time with him has been to me, I can only think, “How can I not?”

In December of 2005, the renowned cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey, experienced excruciating heart pain caused by a weakened aorta that had torn on the inside. In the medical world, this condition is known as a "dissecting aortic aneurysm". Yet, just a few months later in March 2006, he found himself in the process of recovery thanks to a surgical procedure he had himself developed and successfully performed for the first time in 1952 when he became the first American to successfully repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm.?

The fact that an invention had come full circle to save the life of its own inventor is truly remarkable and worthy of celebration.?

That's why, this month, I am honoring and celebrating the legacy of the late Dr. Michael DeBakey - a true visionary who dedicated his life to advancing medical science and improving the lives of countless patients through innovation and excellence in execution.

“The pursuit of excellence has been the objective of my life.”

How Surgeon to Stars Michael DeBakey Saves Lives with Shuttle Technology