Description
The Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids Laboratory (VBBL) is a 1500 square foot facility hosted by the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio. it consists of an experimental bench-top system and ten computer workstations and servers. VBBL provides local computing facilities for model development and simulation, a mechanical testing apparatus for soft tissues, and a flow-loop system for the experimental validation of computational results and testing of synthetic artery models, which consists of a constant and pulsatile flow rate pumps, pressure transducers, flow meters, silicone tubing, a particle image velocimetry system, LabView control program and data acquisition card, digital microbalances, and a desktop PC for data acquisition.

Computer facilities
VBBL contains Intel Linux and Windows workstations, dual-processor Intel Xeon Linux servers. The UTSA College of Engineering infrastructure consists of a heterogeneous network of over 160 high-end workstations for state-of-the-art computing, graphics and animation. Computer backups, maintenance, and user consulting are provided by the Office of Information Technology. All these computers are connected to the local campus network and through this network to outside facilities, providing access to the Texas Advanced Supercomputing Center (TACC). VBBL also has access to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center through an NSF-Teragrid grant of supercomputing resources. Dr. Finol is also a faculty member at UTSA’s Center for Simulation Visualization and Real Time Prediction (SiViRT), which offers additional computing facilities available for VBBL members. The UTSA Advanced Visualization Laboratory (VizLab), managed by SiViRT, allows researchers from all disciplines of art, science and engineering to conduct simulation and visualization research to better understand complex phenomena and translate data into images on large-scale and high resolution visualization walls or other display devices. The laboratory supports UTSA’s mission of teaching, research and community engagement and contributes to UTSA’s goal to recruit the world’s top computational researchers.

Major equipment
VBBL has the following major equipment in the experimental biofluids modeling facility:
   - Constant flow rate peristaltic pumps: Ismatec MCP P280 and Cole-Parmer Masterflex EW-7554-90
   - Pulsatile piston-driven fully programmable pump: Shelley Medical Systems Compuflow 1000
   - Electronic pressure transducers: Honeywell Sensotec FPG-060G93406 and Omega Engineering HHP-803/SIL
   - Analog manometers (Omega Engineering)
   - Electromagnetic flow meters: SeaMetrics EM101-25 and PE102-038
   - Pressure transducer catheters: Millar Instruments SPC-320 2F and PCU-2000 dual channel control unit
   - Pulse damper: Cole-Parmer EW-07596-20
   - Data acquisition system: National Instruments DAQ 6224, PCI-6220, and connector block CA-1000
   - Compact digital lab mixer and hot plate: Cole-Parmer C-50801-00 and EW-03401-10
   - Brookfield LVDV-I Prime viscometer with UL adapter
   - Atago 1230 NAR-3T Abbe Refractometer
   - Microscope: Fisher Scientific 12-563-311
   - Digital micro scales: Fisher Scientific FX-200 and Ohaus AP250D-2A0R
   - High-speed digital flow visualization camera: AVT Pike F-032C and Norpix Streampix digital video recording software
   - PTFE needle valves: Omega Engineering FVLT102-SS
   - In-house compliance chambers and Starling resistors to adjust fluid pressure waveforms and amplitudes
   - Bose Electroforce T3210 mechanical testing apparatus for soft tissues under dynamic modal analysis, with submergible bath chamber with temperature and humidity control
   - LaVision 3D particle image velocimetry (PIV) system for organ and micro scale flow visualization of periodic low frequency flows
   - MakerBot Replicator2 and Z18 3D printers
   - 3D3 Solutions 3D scanner with reverse engineering capabilities
   - In-house apparatus for building transparent replicas of blood vessels suitable for PIV flow visualization, endovascular device deployment, and mechanical testing
   - Access to shared equipment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, which includes:
     * CellScale BioTester planar biaxial tensile tester
     * Bruker microCT scanner SkyScan 1076
     * Scanning Electron Microscopes Zeiss EVO-40 and JEOL JCM-5700