Computer Modeling of Interactions of an Electric Motor, Circulatory System, and Rotary Blood Pump

The innovative ventricular assist systems (IVAS) is the next generation ventricular assist device for use as a permanent implantable device. Its practical application depends upon control of the electric motor and interactions of the electric motor, blood pump, and circulatory system. Computer modeling and simulation are necessary to investigate and evaluate the interactions and feasibility of sophisticated control algorithms. In this paper, a computer model of the complete system, including the cardiovascular system, blood pump, and electric motor, is proposed. The model is obtained based on an electric circuit model of the cardiovascular system, a parametric model of the blood pump, and a dynamic model of the electric motor. The cardiovascular system uses nonlinear parameters to simulate the time–varying property of the ventricles, and the cannula collapse effect caused by over–pumping. The blood pump model can be obtained either from pump design data, or test data. The motor control can be operated with closed-loop regulation, depending upon physiologic requirements. Different operation modes (current or speed) of the electric motor can be simulated. The computer model is implemented using MATLAB. Various motor operation modes are simulated and their effects are evaluated. By adjusting the motor input, the pump can achieve proper output so that normal physiology can be obtained. In addition to evaluating existing operation modes and their effect on the physiologic system, the computer simulation results show that this computer model can contribute significantly to the development of new physiologic control algorithms. It is demonstrated that, using this motor-pump-physiology interaction model, development of an innovative ventricular assist system can be greatly facilitated.