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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Closed Chest Biventricular Pressure-Volume Loop Recordings with Admittance Catheters in a Porcine Model
Published on: May 18, 2021
Cardiovascular simulator improvement: pressure versus volume loop assessment
Jeison Fonseca1, Aron Andrade, Denys E C Nicolosi
1Department of Bioengineering, Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology, São Paulo, Brazil. jfonseca@dantepazzanese.org.br
This study improved a physical cardiovascular simulator (PCS) to accurately model heart conditions. The enhanced PCS system can simulate heart diseases and evaluate ventricular assist devices (VADs).
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Medical Device Simulation
Background:
- The physical cardiovascular simulator (PCS) system is crucial for evaluating heart performance and developing ventricular assist device (VAD) control strategies.
- Heart diseases often decrease stroke volume due to reduced contractility, necessitating accurate simulation of these pathological conditions.
- Existing PCS systems require improvements to reliably mimic human left ventricular function and pathological states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present improvements on a physical cardiovascular simulator (PCS) system.
- To enable the simulation of pathological heart conditions, specifically reduced heart contractility.
- To facilitate the evaluation of ventricular assist devices (VADs) in simulated disease states.
Main Methods:
- Developed an enhanced PCS system based on a Windkessel model with lumped cardiovascular parameters.
- Integrated a computer-controlled actuator (roller screw, brushless DC motor) to regulate stroke volume via diaphragm displacement.
- Utilized pressure transducers and linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) for direct pressure and indirect volume measurements, respectively.
- Employed LabVIEW software to integrate signals and generate pressure-volume (PxV) loops.
Main Results:
- The improved PCS system successfully generated PxV loops, reflecting heart contractility.
- The system demonstrated the ability to simulate pathological situations by varying ventricle elastance.
- Preliminary testing with an attached pulsatile VAD was successfully conducted.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced PCS provides a valuable tool for VAD control strategy development and heart disease research.
- The system's ability to simulate pathological conditions improves its utility for testing cardiovascular devices.
- Further integration and testing with VADs are warranted to fully validate the system's capabilities.
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