Grinding wheel motion, force, temperature, and material removal in rotational atherectomy of calcified plaque

This study investigates the grinding wheel motion, force, material removal, and temperature in rotational atherectomy (RA). RA utilizes a metal-bond diamond wheel to remove plaque from arteries to treat cardiovascular diseases. As a plaque surrogate, a bone workpiece was placed in a vessel simulator and subjected to RA with a wheel rotational speed of 160,000 rpm. This grinding process was monitored by a high-speed camera, a dynamometer, and embedded thermocouples. The results show this process has a 108 Hz wheel orbital frequency, an oscillating grinding force of 0.23 N, 90% debris smaller than 31 mu m, and a 4.1 degrees C temperature rise. (C) 2016 CIRP.