Computer simulation of the circulatory system during support with a rotary blood pump

In order to investigate the performance characteristics of nonpulsatile centrifugal pumps and their interaction with the pulsating heart, a computer simulation model was developed. A model of the pump, including the cannulae and the interference of the cannula and the left atrial wall, was added to a simulator of the circulation. It was implemented on a PC-AT using the analog simulating software AGO1000. An interval of 1 msec real-time per calculation step was evaluated to provide stable results. The calculation speed was approximately 100 msec per step. First simulation studies showed that both the positioning and resistance of the cannulae exert a major influence on system performance and equalized the different pressure-flow characteristics of vaneless and impeller pumps (difference of dp/dQ decreases from more than 6 times without cannulae to 130% with cannulae). In addition, the effects of suction in the atrial cannula, and changes of ventricular performance during changes in pumping power, could be properly simulated. The comparison with animal tests proved that the model is a suitable tool for testing control algorithms for centrifugal pumps.