Pressure pulsation in roller pumps: A validated lumped parameter model

Abstract During open-heart surgery roller pumps are often used to keep the circulation of blood through the patient body. They present numerous key features, but they suffer from several limitations: (a) they normally deliver uncontrolled pulsatile inlet and outlet pressure; (b) blood damage appears to be more than that encountered with centrifugal pumps. A lumped parameter mathematical model of a roller pump (Sarns™ 7000, Terumo CVS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) was developed to dynamically simulate pressures at the pump inlet and outlet in order to clarify the uncontrolled pulsation mechanism. Inlet and outlet pressures obtained by the mathematical model have been compared with those measured in various operating conditions: different rollers’ rotating speed, different tube occlusion rates, and different clamping degree at the pump inlet and outlet. Model results agree with measured pressure waveforms, whose oscillations are generated by the tube compression/release mechanism during the rollers’ engaging and disengaging phases. Average Euclidean Error (AEE) was 20 mmHg and 33 mmHg for inlet and outlet pressure estimates, respectively. The normalized AEE never exceeded 0.16. The developed model can be exploited for designing roller pumps with improved performances aimed at reducing the undesired pressure pulsation.