An in Vitro Circulatory Device for Studying Blood Flow Electrical Impedance in Human Common Carotid Arteries

To study the blood flow electrical impedance in human common carotid arteries in vitro, a circulatory device simulating the arterial pulsatile blood flow is designed and fabricated. Using the detected physiological blood pressure and flow rate waveforms, a five-element lumped parameter model is established, in which the real blood pressure waveform at the common carotid artery and the input impedance of downstream cerebrovascular bed are set as simulated targets. Based on the model, the parameter values of each component are determined using the trial and error method. Furthermore, the feasibility analysis is performed with the software Simulink. Finally, corresponding to the values of each component, appropriate elements are selected to construct the circulatory device in vitro for simulating the blood pulsatile blood flow at the common carotid artery. The results indicate that the circulatory device can generate stable pressure and impedance waveforms similar to the physiological cases. The circulatory device provides an ideal experimental platform for further studying the blood flow electrical impedance in human common carotid artery in vitro.