Flow Diagnostics of a Novel Para-Aortic Blood Pump
Tzong-Shyng Leu, Chun-Yi Hsieh and Pong-Jeu Lu
In this paper, flow diagnostics inside a novel left ventricular assist device, called Para-Aortic Blood Pump (PABP), is studied on a human blood circulation simulation platform. Two flow diagnostic methods were explored to verify if any thrombosis or hemolysis risk of the current PABP engineering design model. First, tracer particle flow visualization method was applied to reveal basic flow patterns during PABP operated on a human blood circulation simulation platform. Second, dye dilution method was applied to identify if any residual non-replaceable fluid still remained inside the PABP during operation. The flow patterns from tracer particle flow visualization method reveal that an unsteady counterclockwise coherent vortex occurs during counter-pulsation operation of PABP. The unsteady coherent vortex structure stays within PABP until inner diaphragm contraction. The results of the dye dilution method proved effective replacement of fluid in the PABP after a few flow cycles. Therefore, the current PABP design is proven to be a low risk of thrombosis during diastole.
Keywords: Para-aortic blood pump, tracer particle flow visualization, dye dilution