Estimation of changes in dynamic hydraulic force in a magnetically suspended centrifugal blood pump with transient computational fluid dynamics analysis

The effect of the hydraulic force on magnetically levitated (maglev) pumps should be studied carefully to improve the suspension performance and the reliability of the pumps. A maglev centrifugal pump, developed at Ibaraki University, was modeled with 926 376 hexahedral elements for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses. The pump has a fully open six-vane impeller with a diameter of 72.5 mm. A self-bearing motor suspends the impeller in the radial direction. The maximum pressure head and flow rate were 250 mmHg and 14 l/min, respectively. First, a steady-state analysis was performed using commercial code STAR-CD to confirm the model’s suitability by comparing the results with the real pump performance. Second, transient analysis was performed to estimate the hydraulic force on the levitated impeller. The impeller was rotated in steps of 1° using a sliding mesh. The force around the impeller was integrated at every step. The transient analysis revealed that the direction of the radial force changed dynamically as the vane’s position changed relative to the outlet port during one circulation, and the magnitude of this force was about 1 N. The current maglev pump has sufficient performance to counteract this hydraulic force. Transient CFD analysis is not only useful for observing dynamic flow conditions in a centrifugal pump but is also effective for obtaining information about the levitation dynamics of a maglev pump.     

Taking into account the observers’ uncertainty: a graduated approach to the credibility of the patient’s pain evaluation

This article presents two experiments aiming to investigate the adoption of a graduated measure to describe credibility attribution by observers who evaluate patients’ pain accounts. A total of 160 medical students were required to express a credibility judgment on the pain intensity level of hypothetical patients. We used 16 vignettes based on a factorial mixed-design. Within-participants factors were the reported pain, the presence of a physical sign, the patient’s facial expression and the patient’s gender, and between-groups factors were the patient’s age and the geographical distribution of the patient’s name. Results confirm the well-established tendency not to believe patients’ self-reports and provide information regarding the evaluators’ uncertainty. The findings suggest that a graduated measure is useful for assessing the degree of uncertainty of the observers and subtle effects of different factors upon the judgment of patient’s pain.     

Rotor Pumps for Artificial and Assisted Circulation

The history of development of rotor pumps for artificial and assisted circulation is discussed in this work. Advantages of rotor pumps over pulsating pumps in implanted systems are considered: minimal size, energy consumption, and cost. Major directions in the development of rotor pumps include bearing elements, which determine pump service life. Axial pumps are considered in more detail. Commercially available axial pump models used in clinics are considered in more detail.     

A Mathematical Model for a Biotechnological Hemodialysis System

A mathematical model of a biotechnological system of hemodialysis is suggested. The model allows normalization of concentrations of electrolytes and substances of low and medium molecular weight and excess liquid to be eliminated. Temporal and spatial dependence of blood components in the patient’s body during hemodialysis is presented. Analytical expressions for flow distributions of blood and dialyzate in the dialyzer are also given.     

基于BP神经网络的旋转血泵生理控制

提出一种基于BP神经网络的旋转血泵生理控制方法,实现血泵植入者生理状态变化下控制器的自适应调节。控制器以临床主动脉平均压100 mmHg作为控制目标,利用神经网络自动学习的特性,采用3层神经网络在循环系统生理状态发生变化时在线调优血泵PID控制器的参数。该控制方法在血液循环系统数学模型中进行数值模拟验证,分别在模拟左心室衰竭、体循环阻力发生生理变化以及左心室收缩能力动态变化等条件下,接入改进后的PID控制器控制血泵转速,使循环系统中主动脉压力达到设定的正常值。结果表明,在上述多种不同的生理状态下,基于BP神经网络改进后的PID控制器均可以克服扰动,在经过约150 s调整时间后达到主动脉平均压100 mmHg的控制目标,并且稳态误差为零。该控制方法可以适应循环系统多种生理状态的变化,为后续的体外和动物试验提供有效的旋转血泵控制方法。     

A Device for Automated Detection and Analysis of Erythrocyte Sedimentation

Progress in contemporary biomedical engineering provides a new approach to conventional methods of medical diagnosis. Automation of erythrocyte sedimentation measurement (dynamics of erythrocyte sedimentation rate) increases efficiency of blood count and provides primary diagnosis of inflammation process in the patient’s body. The goal of this work was to consider apparatuses for automation of erythrocyte sedimentation process measurement (ESP-meter) and blood/plasma border detection. The software of ESP-meters is considered. Translated from Meditsinskaya Tekhnika, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2009, pp. 27–32.     

永磁磁浮叶轮血泵及转子悬浮性能分析

为了消除叶轮血泵内的机械磨损、延长血泵的使用寿命,血泵均采用电磁悬浮技术,但是电磁磁浮有许多不适合血泵的弊端.本文介绍的永磁磁浮叶轮血泵采用一种新颖的永磁轴承,该轴承由两个大小不同、充磁方向相同的同心磁环组成,具有轴向弹簧和径向轴承的双重功能.作者利用实验室自制叶轮血泵转子位置测试系统测量转子的位置.数据处理结果表明,血泵的转速越高、流量越大、气隙越小越有利于叶轮血泵转子悬浮.此外,还讨论了采用三种不同形式永磁轴承的叶轮血泵转子的悬浮性能.     

Morphological inspection of 80 consecutive Gyro pumps after cardiopulmonary bypass

 We have been using the Gyro centrifugal pump C1E3 for cardiopulmonary bypass in anticipation of high efficiency, low hemolysis, and antithrombogenicity of this pump. However, the clinical evaluation of this pump remains to be clarified, because it has been a short time since the pump appeared in clinical situations. The aim of the present study is to inspect and analyze the Gyro pumps morphologically after clinical use. We examined 80 consecutive pumps after cardiopulmonary bypass for 186 ± 67 min with a mean flow rate of 2.52 ± 0.22 l/min/m² at a mean rotational speed of 2485 ± 81.1 rpm. Although no abnormal findings were present in 79 pumps, one pump was found to contain effusion at the connection between the impeller body and the shaft. The extudate was supposed to be blood, based upon the results of X-ray spectrometer analysis. The cause was determined to be the upward deviation of the shaft off the impeller body. Scanning electron microscopy showed scratches on a part of the bottom housing and a smooth surface of both the male and female pivots of the pump. Surface profile measurement revealed that the deformity of the female pivots was 0.14 mm (top) and 0.05 mm (bottom). These observations suggest that the floating force and vibration by the rotating impeller acted on the joint zone between the alumina ceramic shaft and the polycarbonate impeller body, resulting in dissection of the adhesive agent from the polycarbonate. Although this abnormality may be rare, the structural design still may need to be improved. Received: November 9, 2001 / Accepted: February 4, 2002     

New concepts and new design of permanent maglev rotary artificial heart blood pumps

According to tradition, permanent maglev cannot achieve stable equilibrium. The authors have developed, to the contrary, two stable permanent maglev impeller blood pumps. The first pump is an axially driven uni-ventricular assist pump, in which the rotor with impeller is radially supported by two passive magnetic bearings, but has one point contact with the stator axially at standstill. As the pump raises its rotating speed, the increasing hydrodynamic force of fluid acting on the impeller will make the rotor taking off from contacting point and disaffiliate from the stator. Then the rotor becomes fully suspended. The second pump is a radially driven bi-ventricular assist pump, i.e., an impeller total artificial heart. Its rotor with two impellers on both ends is supported by two passive magnetic bearings, which counteract the attractive force between rotor magnets and stator coil iron core. The rotor is affiliated to the stator radially at standstill and becomes levitated during rotation. Therefore, the rotor keeps concentric with stator during rotation but eccentric at standstill, as is confirmed by rotor position detection with Honeywell sensors. It concludes that the permanent maglev needs action of a non-magnetic force to achieve stability but a rotating magnetic levitator with high speed and large inertia can maintain its stability merely with passive magnetic bearings.     

Computer simulation of sensorless fuzzy control of a rotary blood pump to assure normal physiology

Rotary blood pumps have been considered effective permanently implantable devices. However, control of such pumps is quite complicated. Sensorless control of pump flow is required because no invasive flow or pressure sensors are wanted. Whereas insufficient pump output can cause underperfusion and should be avoided, overpumping may cause ventricular collapse and must be prevented. An intelligent physiologic control algorithm is highly desirable to reach optimal pump output based on physiologic requirements. We present an intelligent physiologic control mechanism for the blood pump allowing it to achieve normal physiology. Sensorless control of pump flow is gained by analysis of the electric motor current and speed. The required pump output flow is chosen based on heart rate, and an intelligent fuzzy logic based control mechanism is developed to adjust the motor input so that the pump output can reach required flow while also preventing the occurrence of ventricular suction or cannular collapse. Computer simulation was carried out, and the results indicate that the proposed algorithms can achieve required pump flow to obtain normal physiology, whereas overpumping can be prevented to provide safe operation.     

Conformation changes in albumin molecule as a marker of dissemination of the tumor process

In 20 patients with stomach cancer the total and effective concentrations of blood albumin were measured using a fluorescent probe and albumin binding reserve was calculated. These parameters in two groups of patients (with local and disseminated process) differed significantly. Evaluation of the effective concentration and albumin binding reserve in cancer patients gives additional valuable information about patient’s status. The effective concentration of albumin below 30 g/liter and albumin binding reserve below 70% can be regarded as a prognostically unfavorable sign indicating more extensive dissemination of the tumor process. Translated fromByulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 138, No. 8, pp. 202–203, August, 2004     

A novel permanent maglev impeller TAH: most requirements on blood pumps have been satisfied

Based on the development of an impeller total artificial heart (TAH) (1987) and a permanent maglev (magnetic levitation) impeller pump (2002), as well as a patented magnetic bearing and magnetic spring (1996), a novel permanent maglev impeller TAH has been developed. The device consists of a rotor and a stator. The rotor is driven radially. Two impellers with different dimensions are fixed at both the ends of the rotor. The levitation of the rotor is achieved by using two permanent magnetic bearings, which have double function: radial bearing and axial spring. As the rotor rotates at a periodic changing speed, two pumps deliver the pulsatile flow synchronously. The volume balance between the two pumps is realized due to self-modulation property of the impeller pumps, without need for detection and control. Because the hemo-dynamic force acting on the left impeller is larger than that on the right impeller, and this force during systole is larger than that during diastole, the rotor reciprocates axially once a cycle. This is beneficial to prevent the thrombosis in the pump. Furthermore, a small flow via the gap between stator and rotor from left pump into right pump comes to a full washout in the motor and the pumps. Therefore, it seems neither mechanical wear nor thrombosis could occur. The previously developed prototype impeller TAH had demonstrated that it could operate in animal experiments indefinitely, if the bearing would not fail to work. Expectantly, this novel permanent magnetic levitation impeller TAH with simplicity, implantability, pulsatility, compatibility and durability has satisfied the most requirements on blood pumps and will have more extensive applications in experiments and clinics.     

Impaired Imagery for Upper Limbs

The brain processes associated with mental imagery have long been a matter of debate. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have yielded diverging evidence of mental transformation activating the right hemisphere, the left hemisphere, or both. Here, using a mirror/normal discrimination task with rotated body parts (BPs) and external objects (EOs), we describe the case of a patient who developed a selective deficit in mental imagery of such BPs due to left posterior parietal brain damage. In addition, the patient’s deficit predominated for pictures of right arms (i.e., arms corresponding to the patient’s imagined contralesional arm) and was further characterised by an inability to distinguish between anatomically possible and impossible arm positions. This neuropsychological deficit was corroborated by neuroimaging evidence revealing the absence of activation in the left parietal lobe for the mental rotation of body parts as shown in healthy participants. In contrast, his behavioural performance and brain activation for EOs were similar to those of healthy participants. These data suggest that mental imagery of BPs and EOs relies on different cognitive and neural mechanisms and indicate that the left posterior parietal lobe is a necessary structure for mental transformations of human BPs.     

无叶片离心泵结构对体外循环关键参数的影响

目的探讨无叶片离心泵结构和体外循环关键参数之间的关系,为无叶片离心泵的优化设计提供理论依据和实践参考。方法采用计算流体动力学（computational fluid dynamics,CFD）方法对无叶片离心泵进行数值模拟,分析离心泵的结构和转速与血液流量、泵内流动状态、预充量之间的关系。结果叶轮与蜗壳之间距离一定时,两层叶轮结构比一层叶轮结构驱动血液能力强,但是预充量大;进出口导管直径小,有利于调节流量;泵体结构和叶轮转速影响泵内的血液速度分布,从而会对血液造成不同程度的破坏。结论无叶片离心泵结构和叶轮转速对体外循环流量的控制、泵内血液速度分布、预充量有很大影响。     

Evaluation of Immunotherapy Efficiency in Mouse CaO-1 Ovarian Carcinoma Treated by Vaccines Based on Dendritic Cells

Injection of dendritic cells, pulsated by tumor lysate or mucin, containing CA 125 antigen, led to a more than 50% inhibition of tumor growth in female CBA mice with transplanted mouse pseudomucinous CaO-1 ovarian carcinoma in comparison with the control. Tumor-associated CA 125 antigen can be used for obtaining dendritic cell vaccines against ovarian malignant tumors. This trend will extend the potentialities of application of antitumor vaccines based on dendritic cells, as clinical use of this technology is limited by the need in patient’s tumor material. Mucin, containing Ca 125 antigen, can be isolated from patient’s serum or obtained by gene engineering technologies as a recombinant peptide. Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 147, No. 2, pp. 187-189, February, 2009     

Axial reciprocation of rotating impeller: a new concept of antithrombogenecity in centrifugal pump

For long-term application, rotary pumps have to solve the problems of bearing wear and thrombosis along the bearing. Most investigators choose the magnetic bearing to realize zero-friction and no contact between the rotor and stator; the former avoids the mechanical wear and the latter eliminates the possibility of thrombus formation. The authors have tried and found, however, that it is difficult to apply a magnetic bearing to the rotary pump without disturbing its simplicity, reliability and implantability, and have therefor developed a much simpler and much more creative approach to achieve the same results. Instead of using a sliding bearing, a rolling bearing has been devised for the pump, and its friction is about 1/15 of the sliding bearing. Furthermore, a wear-proof material of ultra-high-molecular weight polythene has been adopted to make the rollers, and its anti-wear property is 8 times better than metal. Thereby, the service life of the bearing has been prolonged to ten years according to the documents provided by the producer. In order to prevent the thrombus formation along the bearing, the impeller reciprocates axiallly as the impeller changes its rotating speed periodically to produce a pulsatile flow. The reciprocation is the result of the effects of a magnetic force between the motor rotor and stator, and a hydraulic force between the blood flow and the impeller. Similar to a piston pump, the oscillating impeller can make the blood flow in and out of the bearing, resulting in wash-out once a circle. This obviously helps to prevent thombosis along the bearing and in the pump. The endurance tests with saline of this novel pump demonstrated the durabililty of the device. It promises to be able to assist the circulation of patients permanently, and to be able to replace heart transplantation in the future.     

Effective connectivity between human supplementary motor area and primary motor cortex: a paired-coil TMS study

Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) experience pronounced body image distortion in combination with a pernicious desire to maintain a dangerously low body weight. Relatively little is known, however, about the mechanism underlying body image distortion in AN. Despite having normal visual perception, individuals with AN both feel and see themselves as large-bodied and show deficits in interoception and haptic perception, suggesting a potential deficit in visual and tactile integration. The size–weight illusion (SWI) arises when two objects of equal weight but different sizes are held. Typical individuals experience a strong and robust illusion that the smaller object feels much heavier than the larger object because of an implicit assumption that weight scales with size. The current study compared the strength of the SWI in individuals with AN to healthy control participants. Individuals with AN exhibited a markedly reduced SWI relative to controls, even though their ability to discriminate weight was unaffected. Because the SWI is strongly modulated by visual appearance, we believe our finding reflects decreased integration of visual and proprioceptive information in anorexia. This finding may explain the puzzling observation that visual perception of the body in a mirror does not correct an AN patient’s distorted body image. We speculate that methods to correct visuo-proprioceptive integration in constructing body image may help rehabilitate patients’ judgments of size and weight regarding their own bodies. We also suggest that a dysfunction in interactions between inferior parietal lobule (concerned with body image), insula, and hypothalamus may underlie AN.     

Axial reciprocation of rotating impeller: a new concept of antithrombogenecity in centrifugal pump

For long-term application, rotary pumps have to solve the problems of bearing wear and thrombosis along the bearing. Most investigators choose the magnetic bearing to realize zerofriction and no contact between the rotor and stator; the former avoids the mechanical wear and the latter eliminates the possibility of thrombus formation. The authors have tried and found, however, that it is difficult to apply a magnetic bearing to the rotary pump without disturbing its simplicity, reliability and implantability, and have therefore developed a much simpler and much more creative approach to achieve the same results. Instead of using a sliding bearing, a rolling bearing has been devised for the pump, and its friction is about 1/15 of the sliding bearing. Furthermore, a wear-proof material of ultra-high-molecular weight polythene has been adopted to make the rollers, and its anti-wear property is 8 times better than metal. Thereby, the service life of the bearing has been prolonged to ten years according to the documents provided by the producer. In order to prevent the thrombus formation along the bearing, the impeller reciprocates axially as the impeller changes its rotating speed periodically to produce a pulsatile flow. The reciprocation is the result of the effects of a magnetic force between the motor rotor and stator, and a hydraulic force between the blood flow and the impeller. Similar to a piston pump, the oscillating impeller can make the blood flow in and out of the bearing, resulting in wash-out once a circle. This obviously helps to prevent thrombosis along the bearing and in the pump. The endurance tests with saline of this novel pump demonstrated the durability of the device. It promises to be able to assist the circulation of patients permanently, and to be able to replace heart transplantation in the future.     

轴流式血泵无位置传感驱动控制系统设计

目的:设计一种无位置传感器轴流式血泵驱动控制系统,实现轴流式血泵的速度闭环控制、无线状态监测及动态调节控制。 方法:以STM32F103作为主控芯片,设计六臂全桥驱动电路,采用端电压过零检测实现转子位置和速度检测,并设计PI控制器实现闭环控制,使用无线蓝牙通讯实现泵状态监测及控制。 结果:驱动控制系统速度响应快,稳态误差小于1%,在8 000 rpm转速下,能够达到人体血液循环所需的流量及压差要求。 结论:系统实现了轴流式血泵无位置传感的启动及速度闭环控制,通过蓝牙模块实现对泵运行过程的电压、电流及流量进行监控和运行过程中根据病人生理情况动态调节泵转速。     

Operating point control system for a continuous flow artificial heart: in vitro study

We proposed and developed a practical and effective servo control system for rotary blood pumps. A rotary blood pump for assisting the failing natural heart should be operated only in physiologically acceptable conditions. The operation of a rotary blood pump is based on the rotational speed of the impeller and pressure head. If the pump flow and the pressure head are set within an acceptable range, the driving condition is deemed normal condition, and this control system maintains the preset operating point by applying proportional and detective control (PD control). If the pump flow or pressure head is outside the acceptable range, the driving condition is determined to be abnormal condition, and this system operates the pump in a recovery fashion. If the driving condition is kept under abnormal conditions of sudden decrease of the flow, the condition is termed a suction condition. The controller releases the pump from the suction condition and later returns it to the normal condition. In this study, we evaluated these servo control modes of the centrifugal pump and confirmed whether the performance of this proposed operating point control system was practical.