Design optimization of an axial blood pump with computational fluid dynamics

A fully implantable, axial flow blood pump has been developed in our hospital. Both in vitro and in vivo tests showed that the hemolysis and thrombus characteristics of the pump were in an acceptable but not in an ideal range. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and in vitro test results showed that the pump worked at off-design point with a low hydraulic efficiency; CFD analysis also showed regions of reverse flow in the diffuser, which not only decreases the pump's hydrodynamic efficiency, but also increases its overall potential for blood trauma and thrombosis. To make a blood pump atraumatic and nonthrombogenic, several methods were taken to reach a final model of the optimized blood pump using CFD, which decreased the rotational speed from 9,000 to 8,000 rpm, and the design flow rate from 11 to 6 L/min. More significantly, the flow separation and recirculation in the diffuser region were eliminated, which mitigated the traumatic and thrombus effect on blood. The acceptable results of the numerical simulations encourage additional in vitro and in vivo studies.