Overview

The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI) is a biomedical research institute that is committed to excellence in research into heart disease and cardiovascular biology, cardiovascular research training, and facilitating the rapid application of research discoveries to patient care.

Although they address all forms of heart disease, they have a major focus in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart muscle diseases. They are a leader in adult stem cell technologies and the potential application to the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

They currently have 5 research divisions covering:

• Cardiac Physiology and Transplantation
• Developmental Biology
• Molecular Cardiology & Biophysics
• Molecular Genetics
• Structural & Computational Biology

The institute opened two years ago and required an extremely dry, flaked ice.

Solution

The requirement was for very dry, flaked ice, supplied from multiple machines throughout the institute. The units also had to have a low heat output as they would be self-contained and in small spaces.

Management of the institute also worked on the development of the Garvan institute, which employed Hoshizaki Flakers. The units there had been such a success that not another brand was considered.

Result

The ice is used in several areas of the institute, including research to organ transport. Quite often the ice is used in temperature related, de-naturing experiments.

The units have been incredibly reliable since and operate 24/7 without a miss.