Prediction of Flow Behavior and Level of Hemolysis in a Pulsatile Left Ventricular Assist Device

Heart failure claims the lives of thousands of people annually. Left ventricular assist device is a valid treatment option for patients with an advanced stage of heart failure. The left ventricular assist device is a blood pump increasing the pumping ability of the bottom left chamber of the patient’s heart. In this study, we investigate the hemolytic characteristics of a left ventricular assist device. The main objective of this paper is to explore the effects of amplitude and frequency on levels of hemolysis via computational fluid dynamic in an implantable reciprocating pump. Thus, the dynamic mesh technique is utilized to simulate piston motion and valves closure. Moreover, a system of time-dependent nonlinear partial differential equations is coupled with each other to predict blood flow and hemolysis index. Fluid dynamic characteristics are obtained by employing continuity and momentum equations and the levels of hemolysis are also calculated by applying two additional scalar transport equations based on an Eulerian transport approach. The results depicted the favorable reduction in hemolysis index by increasing frequency and decreasing amplitude simultaneously at specific Reynolds number, they also showed that the average hemolysis at the right side of the piston is slightly higher than the left side and it obtains its maximum value at valves and clearance domains.