The study on hemodynamic effect of series type LVAD on aortic blood flow pattern: a primary numerical study

Optimization of a centrifugal blood pump designed using an industrial method through experimental and numerical study

With improved treatment of coronary artery disease, more patients are surviving until heart failure occurs. This leads to an increase in patients needing devices for struggling with heart failure. Ventricular assist devices are known as the mainstay of these devices. This study aimed to design a centrifugal pump as a ventricular assist device. In order to design the pump, firstly, the geometrical parameters of the pump, including the gap distance, blade height, and position of the outlet relative to the blade, were investigated. Finally, the selected configuration, which had all the appropriate characteristics, both hydraulically and physiologically, was used for the rest of the study. The study of the blade, as the main component in energy transfer to the blood, in a centrifugal pump, has been considered in the present study. In this regard, the point-to-point design method, which is used in industrial applications, was implemented. The designer chooses the relationship between the blade angles at each radius in the point-to-point method. The present study selected logarithmic and second-order relations for designing the blade's profile. In total, 58 blades were examined in this study, which differed regarding blade inlet and outlet angles and the relationship between angle and radial position. ANSYS CFX 17.0 software was utilized to simulate blades' performances, and a benchmark pump provided by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was used to validate the numerical simulations. Then, the selected impeller from the numerical investigation was manufactured, and its performance was compared experimentally with the FDA benchmark pump. A hydraulic test rig was also developed for experimental studies. The results showed that among the blades designed in this study, the blade with an input angle of 45° and an output angle of 55°, which is designed to implement a logarithmic relationship, has the best performance. The selected impeller configuration can increase the total head (at least by 20%) at different flow rates compared to the FDA pump.

Prediction of Stress Map in Ascending Aorta - Optimization of the Coaxial Position in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

BACKGROUD

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can reduce mortality among patients with aortic stenosis. Knowledge of pressure distribution and shear stress at the aortic wall may help identify critical regions, where aortic remodeling process may occur. Here a numerical simulation study of the influence of positioning of the prosthetic valve orifice on the flow field is presented.

OBJECTIVE

The present analysis provides a perspective of great variance on flow behavior due only to angle changes.

METHODS

A 3D model was generated from computed tomography angiography of a patient who had undergone a TAVR. Different mass flow rates were imposed at the inlet valve.

RESULTS

Small variations of the tilt angle could modify the nature of the flow, displacing the position of the vortices, and altering the prerssure distribution and the location of high wall shear stress.

CONCLUSION

These hemodynamic features may be relevant in the aortic remodeling process and distribution of the stress mapping and could help, in the near future, the optimization of the percutaneous prosthesis implantation. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0).

COMPARISON AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF TURBULENCE MODELS FOR AN AXIAL FLOW BLOOD PUMP

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become an essential tool for designing and optimizing the structure of blood pumps. However, it is still questionable which turbulence model can better obtain the flow information for axial flow blood pump. In this study, the axial flow blood pump was used as the object, and the influence of the common turbulence models on simulation was compared. Six turbulence models (standard [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model, RNG [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model, standard [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model, SST [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model, Spalart–Allmaras model, SSG Reynolds stress model) were used to simulate the pressure difference and velocity field of the pump. In parallel, we designed a novel drive system of the axial flow blood pump, which allowed the camera to capture the internal flow field. Then we measured the flow field in the impeller region based on particle image velocimetry (PIV). Through the comparison of experiments and simulation results, the average errors of velocity field obtained by the above models are 30.97%, 19.40%, 24.25%, 15.28%, 28.51%, 23.00%, respectively. Since the SST [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model has the smallest error, and the streamline is consistent with the experimental results, it is recommended to use SST [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model for numerical analysis of the axial flow blood pump.

Turbulent Flow Promotes Cleavage of VWF (von Willebrand Factor) by ADAMTS13 (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase With a Thrombospondin Type-1 Motif, Member 13)

Objective—

Acquired von Willebrand syndrome is defined by excessive cleavage of the VWF (von Willebrand Factor) and is associated with impaired primary hemostasis and severe bleeding. It often develops when blood is exposed to nonphysiological flow such as in aortic stenosis or mechanical circulatory support. We evaluated the role of laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow on VWF cleavage and the effects on VWF function.

Approach and Results—

We used a vane rheometer to generate laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow and evaluate the effect of each on VWF cleavage in the presence of ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type-1 motif, member 13). We performed functional assays to evaluate the effect of these flows on VWF structure and function. Computational fluid dynamics was used to estimate the flow fields and forces within the vane rheometer under each flow condition. Turbulent flow is required for excessive cleavage of VWF in an ADAMTS13-dependent manner. The assay was repeated with whole blood, and the turbulent flow had the same effect. Our computational fluid dynamics results show that under turbulent conditions, the Kolmogorov scale approaches the size of VWF. Finally, cleavage of VWF in this study has functional consequences under flow as the resulting VWF has decreased ability to bind platelets and collagen.

Conclusions—

Turbulent flow mediates VWF cleavage in the presence of ADAMTS13, decreasing the ability of VWF to sustain platelet adhesion. These findings impact the design of mechanical circulatory support devices and are relevant to pathological environments where turbulence is added to circulation.

Clinical validation and assessment of aortic hemodynamics using computational fluid dynamics simulations from computed tomography angiography

Background

Hemodynamic information including peak systolic pressure (PSP) and peak systolic velocity (PSV) carry an important role in evaluation and diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD). Since MDCTA cannot evaluate hemodynamic information directly, the aim of this study is to provide a noninvasive method based on a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, derived from multi-detector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) raw data, to analyze the aortic hemodynamics in infants with CHD, and validate these results against echocardiography and cardiac catheter measurements.

Methods

This study included 25 patients (17 males, and 8 females; a median age of 2 years, range: 4 months–4 years) with CHD. All patients underwent both transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and MDCTA within 2 weeks prior to cardiac catheterization. CFD models were created from MDCTA raw data. Boundary conditions were confirmed by lumped parameter model and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Peak systolic velocity derived from CFD models (PSV_CFD) was compared to TTE measurements (PSV_TTE), while the peak systolic pressure derived from CFD (PSP_CFD) was compared to catheterization (PSP_CC). Regions with low and high peak systolic wall shear stress (PSWSS) were also evaluated.

Results

PSV_CFD and PSP_CFD showed good agreements between PSV_TTE (r = 0.968, p < 0.001; mean bias = − 7.68 cm/s) and PSP_CC (r = 0.918, p < 0.001; mean bias = 1.405 mmHg). Regions with low and high PSWSS) can also be visualized. Skewing of velocity or helical blood flow was also observed at aortic arch in patients.

Conclusions

Our result demonstrated that CFD scheme based on MDCTA raw data is an accurate and convenient method in obtaining the velocity and pressure from aorta and displaying the distribution of PSWSS and flow pattern of aorta. The preliminary results from our study demonstrate the capability in combining clinical imaging data and novel CFD tools in infants with CHD and provide a noninvasive approach for diagnose of CHD such as coarctation of aorta in future.

Helical Flow Component of Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) Outflow Improves Aortic Hemodynamic States

Background

Although LVADs are confirmed to have strong effects on aortic hemodynamics, the precise mechanisms of the helical flow component of LVAD outflow are still unclear.

Material/Methods

To clarify these effects, 3 cases – normal case, flat flow case, and realistic flow case – were designed and studied by using the CFD approach. The normal case denoted the normal aorta without LVAD support, and the flat flow case represented the aorta with the outflow cannula. Similarly, the realistic flow case included the aortic model, the model of outflow cannula, and the model of LVAD. The velocity vector, blood streamline, distribution of wall shear stress (WSS), and the local normalized helicity (LNH) were calculated.

Results

The results showed that the helical component of LVAD outflow significantly improved the aortic hemodynamics. Compared with the flat flow case, the helical flow eliminated the vortex near the outer wall of the aorta and improved the blood flow transport (normal case 0.1 m/s vs. flat flow case 0.14 m/s vs. realistic flow case 0.30 m/s) at the descending aorta. Moreover, the helical flow was confirmed to even the distribution of WSS, reduce the peak value of WSS (normal case 0.92 Pa vs. flat flow case 7.39 Pa vs. realistic flow case 5.2Pa), and maintain a more orderly WSS direction.

Conclusions

The helical flow component of LVAD outflow has significant advantages for improving aortic hemodynamic stability. Our study provides novel insights into LVAD optimization.