Computational fluid flow and mass transfer of a functionally integrated pediatric pump-oxygenator configuration

Ension, Inc., under a contract with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HHSN268200448189C), is currently developing a pediatric cardiopulmonary assist system (pCAS). This work reports on the utilization of computational fluid dynamics to predict the performance of the first of two device iterations before physical fabrication and in vitro testing. Fluent, Inc. was consulted to assist with key technical aspects of model development. Activities included porous model development and verification, generation of predictive fluid velocity fields, and incorporation of postprocessing subroutines for calculating oxygenation, decarbonation, and hemolytic blood damage. Experimental validation was conducted using bovine blood and good quantitative agreement with computational predictions was demonstrated. The success of this work suggests that the generated models and subroutines can be used as a practical tool for design and analysis of subsequent candidate pCAS design configurations.