Fontan Hemodynamics Investigation via Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Idealized Pediatric Total Cavopulmonary Connection

Abstract

Simulation of the human body normal operating conditions is the important issue in the engineering process of designing biomedical devices intended for implantation. As an example of such process the Fontan procedure aims to support the human body function. It is a standard palliative treatment method for patients with a functionally univentricular heart. Nevertheless, this procedure has significant drawbacks. For instance, overload of the only functional ventricle leads to the inevitability of the heart transplantation. Herein, we perform simulation and experimental characteristics of the pediatric total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) influence on the blood flow. We investigate and design three different types of pediatric TCPC configurations; we detect fluorescent particles via a high-speed camera in order to analyze distribution of the blood flow velocity modulus in different types of TCPCs. Finally, we evaluate hydraulic power losses for various cases. This work is particularly relevant for the improvement of existing TCPCs quality that can extend the life of Fontan patients. Moreover, it also applies to the reduction of morbidity and mortality of the patients waiting for a heart transplantation.

Correlation between Myocardial Function and Electric Current Pulsatility of the Sputnik Left Ventricular Assist Device: In-Vitro Study

“…Direct measurement increases invasiveness which is not always necessary or available in longterm support. And the second approach has limitations in accuracy caused by the low system efficiency of rotary blood pumps (RBPs), which makes it difficult to assess the direct correlation between electric and hydraulic parameters of the system [7,[42][43][44][45][46][47]. For instance, the maximum efficiency of CF RBP typically does not exceed 30 % [48][49][50][51].…”