Analysis of an Artificial Ventricle and Mock Circulatory System

A mathematical model is developed for calculating the pressures and flows in an artificial heart, its pneumatic drive unit, and a mock circulatory system. The system is divided into convenient subsystems to facilitate the analysis, and each subsystem is then analyzed separately. The set of independent equations developed is solved on a computer and corresponding experimental tests are made on the actual system. A comparison of the experimental and computer results shows good agreement for the mean flow rate through the pump and also for several instantaneous pressures and flow rates in the system.