scholarly journals Benefits of polidocanol endovenous microfoam (Varithena®) compared with physician-compounded foams

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Carugo ◽  
Dyan N Ankrett ◽  
Xuefeng Zhao ◽  
Xunli Zhang ◽  
Martyn Hill ◽  
...  

Objective To compare foam bubble size and bubble size distribution, stability, and degradation rate of commercially available polidocanol endovenous microfoam (Varithena®) and physician-compounded foams using a number of laboratory tests. Methods Foam properties of polidocanol endovenous microfoam and physician-compounded foams were measured and compared using a glass-plate method and a Sympatec QICPIC image analysis method to measure bubble size and bubble size distribution, Turbiscan™ LAB for foam half time and drainage and a novel biomimetic vein model to measure foam stability. Physician-compounded foams composed of polidocanol and room air, CO2, or mixtures of oxygen and carbon dioxide (O2:CO2) were generated by different methods. Results Polidocanol endovenous microfoam was found to have a narrow bubble size distribution with no large (>500 µm) bubbles. Physician-compounded foams made with the Tessari method had broader bubble size distribution and large bubbles, which have an impact on foam stability. Polidocanol endovenous microfoam had a lower degradation rate than any physician-compounded foams, including foams made using room air (p < 0.035). The same result was obtained at different liquid to gas ratios (1:4 and 1:7) for physician-compounded foams. In all tests performed, CO2 foams were the least stable and different O2:CO2 mixtures had intermediate performance. In the biomimetic vein model, polidocanol endovenous microfoam had the slowest degradation rate and longest calculated dwell time, which represents the length of time the foam is in contact with the vein, almost twice that of physician-compounded foams using room air and eight times better than physician-compounded foams prepared using equivalent gas mixes. Conclusion Bubble size, bubble size distribution and stability of various sclerosing foam formulations show that polidocanol endovenous microfoam results in better overall performance compared with physician-compounded foams. Polidocanol endovenous microfoam offers better stability and cohesive properties in a biomimetic vein model compared to physician-compounded foams. Polidocanol endovenous microfoam, which is indicated in the United States for treatment of great saphenous vein system incompetence, provides clinicians with a consistent product with enhanced handling properties.

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad M. Al-Qararah ◽  
Tuomo Hjelt ◽  
Karita Kinnunen ◽  
Nikolai Beletski ◽  
Jukka Ketoja

Abstract Foam forming leads to sheet structures with exceptional volume of large pores. The link between fibre network structure and foam properties is investigated by comparing pore structure with measured bubble-size distribution. In foams produced by mechanical mixing, higher rotor speed leads to smaller average bubble size, whereas the effects coming from air content and surfactant are smaller and non-systematic. A significant drop in the average bubble size is seen when mixing fibres to foam. In sheets made with foam forming, there are more large pores compared to the water formed sheets. The size of these pores is affected by the sizes of the bubbles in the foam. Overall, pore size distribution is more strongly affected by the fibre type than by small changes in bubble size distribution.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 390-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike R Watkins ◽  
Richard J Oliver

Objectives The objectives were to examine the density, bubble size distribution and durability of sodium tetradecyl sulphate foam and the consistency of production of foam by a number of different operators using the Tessari method. Methods 1% and 3% sodium tetradecyl sulphate sclerosant foam was produced by an experienced operator and a group of inexperienced operators using either a 1:3 or 1:4 liquid:air ratio and the Tessari method. The foam density, bubble size distribution and foam durability were measured on freshly prepared foam from each operator. Results The foam density measurements were similar for each of the 1:3 preparations and for each of the 1:4 preparations but not affected by the sclerosant concentration. The bubble size for all preparations were very small immediately after preparation but progressively coalesced to become a micro-foam (<250 µm) after the first 30 s up until 2 min. Both the 1% and 3% solution foams developed liquid more rapidly when made in a 1:3 ratio (37 s) than in a 1:4 ratio (45 s) but all combinations took similar times to reach 0.4 ml liquid formation. For all the experiments, there was no statistical significant difference between operators. Conclusions The Tessari method of foam production for sodium tetradecyl sulphate sclerosant is consistent and reproducible even when made by inexperienced operators. The best quality foam with micro bubbles should be used within the first minute after production.


Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1129
Author(s):  
Ruidi Bai ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
Bingyang Feng ◽  
Shanjun Liu ◽  
Faxing Zhang

Chute aerators introduce a large air discharge through air supply ducts to prevent cavitation erosion on spillways. There is not much information on the microcosmic air bubble characteristics near the chute bottom. This study was focused on examining the bottom air-water flow properties by performing a series of model tests that eliminated the upper aeration and illustrated the potential for bubble variation processes on the chute bottom. In comparison with the strong air detrainment in the impact zone, the bottom air bubble frequency decreased slightly. Observations showed that range of probability of the bubble chord length tended to decrease sharply in the impact zone and by a lesser extent in the equilibrium zone. A distinct mechanism to control the bubble size distribution, depending on bubble diameter, was proposed. For bubbles larger than about 1–2 mm, the bubble size distribution followed a—5/3 power-law scaling with diameter. Using the relationship between the local dissipation rate and bubble size, the bottom dissipation rate was found to increase along the chute bottom, and the corresponding Hinze scale showed a good agreement with the observations.


Author(s):  
Xinju Li ◽  
Xiaoping Guan ◽  
Rongtao Zhou ◽  
Ning Yang ◽  
Mingyan Liu

Abstract3D Eulerian-Eulerian model was applied to simulate the gas-liquid two-phase flow in a stirred tank of dual Rushton turbines using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effects of two different bubble treatment methods (constant bubble sizevs. population balance model, PBM) and two different coalescence models (Luo modelvs. Zaichik model) on the prediction of liquid flow field, local gas holdup or bubble size distribution were studied. The results indicate that there is less difference between the predictions of liquid flow field and gas holdup using the above models, and the use of PBM did not show any advantage over the constant bubble size model under lower gas holdup. However, bubble treatment methods have great influence on the local gas holdup under larger gas flow rate. All the models could reasonably predict the gas holdup distribution in the tank operated at a low aeration rate except the region far from the shaft. Different coalescence models have great influence on the prediction of bubble size distribution (BSD). Both the Luo model and Zaichik model could qualitatively estimate the BSD, showing the turning points near the impellers along the height, but the quantitative agreement with experiments is not achieved. The former over-predicts the BSD and the latter under-predicts, showing that the existing PBM models need to be further developed to incorporate more physics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jiaming Lei ◽  
Jianmin Zhang ◽  
Lifang Zhang

The aerator can reduce erosion by mixing a large amount of air into the water in the solid wall area. The effectiveness of erosion reduction is mainly based on air concentration and its bubble size distribution. However, simultaneous simulation of the air concentration and its bubble size distribution in numerical simulations is still a hot and difficult area of research. Aiming at the downstream aerated flow of hydraulic aeration facilities, several numerical models, such as VOF, mixture, Euler, and Population Balance Model (PBM), are compared and verified by experiments. The results show that the CFD-PBM coupled model performs well compared to other conventional multiphase models. It can not only obtain the evolution law of the bubble distribution downstream of the aerator but also accurately simulate the recombination and evolution process of bubble aggregation and breakage. The Sauter mean diameter of the air bubbles in the aerated flow decreases along the way and eventually reaches a stable value. The bubble breakage is the main process in the development of the bubbles. It reveals the aeration law that the small air bubbles are closer to the bottom plate, while the large bubbles float up along the aerated flow, which provides a powerful support for the basic research on the mechanism of aeration and erosion reduction.


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