Abstract
A continuous-flow output mode of a rotary blood pump reduces the fluctuation range of arterial blood pressure and easily causes complications. For a centrifugal rotary blood pump, sinusoidal and pulsatile speed patterns are designed using the impeller speed modulation. This study aimed to analyze the hemodynamic characteristics and hemolysis of different speed patterns of a blood pump in patients with heart failure using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the lumped parameter model (LPM). The results showed that the impeller with three speed patterns (including the constant speed pattern) met the normal blood demand of the human body. The pulsating flow generated by the impeller speed modulation effectively increased the maximum pulse pressure (PP) to 12.7 mm Hg, but the hemolysis index (HI) in the sinusoidal and pulsatile speed patterns was higher than that in the constant speed pattern, which was about 2.1 × 10−5. The flow path of the pulsating flow field in the spiral groove of the hydrodynamic suspension bearing was uniform, but the alternating high shear stress (0~157 Pa) was caused by the impeller speed modulation, causing blood damage. Therefore, the rational modulation of the impeller speed and the structural optimization of a blood pump are important for improving hydrodynamic characteristics and hemolysis.
Highlights
A ventricular assist device helps the native heart to pump blood to meet the normal demand of patients with heart failure
The aortic pressure (AOP) pressure pulsation range was small at a constant speed pattern, and the sinusoidal and pulsatile speed patterns provided a larger range of pressure pulsation for the blood input to the aorta
The change in the hemolysis index (HI) of the blood pump was small under the condition of continuous flow with a constant speed pattern
Summary
A ventricular assist device helps the native heart to pump blood to meet the normal demand of patients with heart failure. It is an effective method for treating heart failure in a clinic. A ventricular assist device has developed from the first generation of a total artificial heart to the third generation of a suspension rotary blood pump. The output blood flow form of a pulsatile-flow blood pump (PFBP) is consistent with the native heart of the human body, but the structure is complex and the volume is large, making its implantation into a patient body difficult; it has a high failure rate
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