Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
28 August 2019 | Story Lacea Loader
The composition of the UFS Council is stipulated in the UFS Statute, which was published in the Government Gazette on 26 January 2018 and amended by publication in the Government Gazette on 29 March 2019.

The Convocation has to elect two (2) external (neither employees nor students of UFS) representatives to the Council to represent the Convocation and Alumni on Council, following the expiry of the term of office of these representatives.  The two (2) elected representatives will serve for a period of four years on Council.

The Convocation comprises all persons who obtained a formal qualification from the UFS, as well as all permanent academic staff members.

Members of the Convocation are invited to submit written nominations by using the Nomination Form, for the following:

1.    one representative from the Qwaqwa Campus; and
2.    one other representative.

Every nomination form shall be signed by 4 (four) members of the Convocation and shall contain the written acceptance of the nomination by the nominee under his/her signature, as well as an abridged CV and a motivation of ± 200 words.

All nominations must reach the office of the Registrar no later than 16:30 on Tuesday, 17 September 2019.

If more than one person is nominated for each of the categories mentioned above, elections will be held as stipulated in the Institutional Rules. More information regarding this process will follow at that stage.

Nominations are to be submitted to:
e-mail: registrar@ufs.ac.za

or by post (strongly advised not to use this method due to delays):

Mr NN Ntsababa  
Registrar
University of the Free State
PO Box 339
Bloemfontein
9300

or hand-delivered to:                

Mr NN Ntsababa
Room 51, 1st Floor
Main Building
UFS Bloemfontein Campus

For enquiries, please contact Mr NN Ntsababa at registrar@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 3796.

Kindly take note that late or incomplete nominations will not be accepted or considered.

Every nomination must be submitted separately.

News Archive

Heart-valve studies receive international recognition
2017-07-11

 Description: Heart-valve studies Tags: Heart-valve studies  

Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the
Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre, with
Kyle Davis, Mechanical Engineer at the centre.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

Three heart-valve studies which have been developed at the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the School of Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS) were recently presented in Monte Carlo at the conference of the prestigious global Heart Valve Society (HVS).

These studies are all headed by Prof Francis Smit, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UFS, and Manager of the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre.
Prof Smit says the HVS is a combination of the former heart-valve societies of Europe and the US. “Studies on heart-valve disease, heart-valve-related products and operations, as well as the design and development of new valves were presented. There are both clinical and development divisions.

He says the study in which the hemodynamics of their redesigned mechanical poppet valve was compared to a commercial bi-leaflet mechanical heart valve, was named as the best poster presentation in the experimental valve development and numerical flow dynamics division. The study, which was presented by Kyle Davis, mechanical engineer at the centre, competed against some of the best heart-valve research units in the world.

The redesigned valve, based on the 1960s Cape Town poppet valve, has the potential to provide a low-cost solution for mechanical heart-valve replacement. It is possible to produce the titanium ring with 3-D printers and is, together with the silicon poppet valve, extremely inexpensive compared to current mechanical valve-manufacturing processes.
The advantages of this valve over current mechanical valves is that, due to the effective and laminar flow characteristics, as well as the simple locking mechanisms, there is a reduced chance of valve thrombosis, and the need for anti-clotting drugs is therefore limited.

It was also confirmed that the new valve more than meets the published FDA (Federal Drug Agency) requirements, which determine the minimum standards of valves for human use in the US.

The redesigned valve also has a very low platelet activation impact, which is responsible for platelet thrombosis and leads to valve thrombosis or strokes. This valve is another heart-valve project by the centre, which is also in the process of evaluating a tri-leaflet polyurethane valve developed by them.


We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept