Noninvasive Miniaturized Mass-flow Meter using a Curved Cannula for Implantable Axial Flow Blood Pump

Blood flow should be measured to monitor conditions of patients with implantable artificial hearts continuously and noninvasively. We have developed a noninvasive miniaturized mass-flow meter using a curved cannula for an axial flow blood pump. The mass-flow meter utilized centrifugal force generated by the mass-flow rate in the curved cannula. Two strain gauges served as sensors. Based on the numerical analysis, the first gauge, attached to the curved area, measured static pressure and centrifugal force, and the second, attached to the straight area, measured static pressure for static pressure compensation. The mass-flow rate was determined by the differences in output from the two gauges. To compensate for the inertia force under the pulsatile flow, a 0.75-Hz low-pass filter was added to the electrical circuit. In the evaluation tests, numerical analysis and an actual measurement test using bovine blood were performed to evaluate the measurement performances. As a result, in the numerical analysis, the relationship between the differential pressure caused by centrifugal force and the flow rate was verified. In the actual measurement test, measurement error was less than +/- 0.5 L/min, and the time delay was 0.12 s. We confirmed that the developed mass-flow meter was able to measure mass-flow rate continuously and noninvasively.