[Control system for a complete artificial heart based on a mean value model of the cardiovascular system]

The reliable use of an artificial heart in patients requires a control strategy that is able to monitor and realistically regulate the different loads of the cardiovascular system. The model outlined in the following article was created in an interdisciplinary environment with heart specialists and automation engineers. A control system for an artificial heart, in the form of a peristaltic pump, was created with the help of a load-dependent mean-value model of the cardiovascular system. The resistance of the arterioles in the systemic vascular system RA was chosen as the parameter for the adaptation of the cardiac output. This parameters can be easily and accurately estimated through the measurement of pressures and flows, and it is a very good indicator for the load of the organism. The results, obtained through simulation of the overall system, show a very fast and accurate adaptation of the cardiac output to the needs of the body at changing loads over a large range of workloads. At the same time, the protection of the lungs from excessive pressure is ensured by balance control of the outputs of the two halves of the artificial heart. The control system outlined here needs only pressure and flow sensors, which can be integrated into the pump housing.