Physiological control of an in-series connected pulsatile VAD: numerical simulation study

This paper investigates ventricular assist device (VAD)-assisted cardiovascular dynamics under proportion-integration-differentiation (PID) feedback control. Previously, we have studied the cardiovascular responses under the support of an in-series connected reciprocating-valve VAD through numerical simulation, and no feedback control was applied in the VAD. In this research, we explore the contribution of the VAD control on the circulatory dynamics assisted by the reciprocating-valve VAD, in response to the changing physiological conditions. The classical PID control algorithm is implemented to regulate the VAD stroke beat-to-beat, based on the error signal between the expected and the realistic mean aortic pressures. Simulation results show that under the PID VAD control, physiological variables such as left atrial, ventricular and systemic arterial pressures, cardiac output and ventricular volumes are satisfactorily maintained in the physiological ranges. With the online PID feedback control, operation of the reciprocating-valve VAD can be satisfactorily regulated to accommodate metabolic requirements under various physiological conditions including normal resting and exercise situations.