Hybrid Mock Circulatory Loop Simulation of Extreme Cardiac Events

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Medical Device Testing

Background:

• Cardiac arrhythmias and valvular stenosis affect many patients but are underrepresented in current VAD testing.
• Existing mock circulation loops have limitations in simulating complex pathological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate methods for incorporating cardiac arrhythmias and valvular stenosis into a hybrid mock circulation loop (hMCL).
• To enhance the verification and validation processes for mechanical circulatory support devices, specifically Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs).

Main Methods:

• Utilized MGH/MF Waveform datasets from PhysioNet, including arrhythmic ECG measurements.
• Updated cardiovascular system models to recreate arrhythmic events and valvular stenosis in vitro.
• Employed a hybrid mock circulation loop (hMCL) for testing.

Main Results:

• The hMCL successfully recreated tested cardiac events with low mean error (within 2% and 4%) for aortic and left ventricular pressure tracking.
• Frequency spectrum analysis confirmed close alignment between measured and simulated pressure frequency content for arrhythmic conditions.

Conclusions:

• Achieved the generation of cardiac arrhythmias and valvular stenosis around a VAD using both model-based and measurement-based methods.
• This work provides a foundational approach for integrating pathological conditions into hMCL systems for next-generation VAD validation.