Development of a miniaturized mass-flow meter for an axial flow blood pump based on computational analysis

In order to monitor the condition of patients with implantable left ventricular assist systems (LVAS), it is important to measure pump flow rate continuously and noninvasively. However, it is difficult to measure the pump flow rate, especially in an implantable axial flow blood pump, because the power consumption has neither linearity nor uniqueness with regard to the pump flow rate. In this study, a miniaturized mass-flow meter for discharged patients with an implantable axial blood pump was developed on the basis of computational analysis, and was evaluated in in-vitro tests. The mass-flow meter makes use of centrifugal force produced by the mass-flow rate around a curved cannula. An optimized design was investigated by use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. On the basis of the computational analysis, a miniaturized mass-flow meter made of titanium alloy was developed. A strain gauge was adopted as a sensor element. The first strain gauge, attached to the curved area, measured both static pressure and centrifugal force. The second strain gauge, attached to the straight area, measured static pressure. By subtracting the output of the second strain gauge from the output of the first strain gauge, the mass-flow rate was determined. In in-vitro tests using a model circulation loop, the mass-flow meter was compared with a conventional flow meter. Measurement error was less than ±0.5 L/min and average time delay was 0.14 s. We confirmed that the miniaturized mass-flow meter could accurately measure the mass-flow rate continuously and noninvasively.