Mathematical model of pulsatile blood pump for LVAS control

A mathematical model describing the pressure-volume relationship of the Novacor left ventricular assist system (LVAS) was developed. The model consisted of lumped resistance, capacitance, and inductance elements with one time-varying capacitor to simulate the cyclical pressure generation of the system. The ejection and filling portions of the pump cycle were modeled with two separate functions. The corresponding model parameters were estimated by least squares fit to experimental data obtained in the laboratory. The model performed well in simulating pump pressure of operation throughout the full cycle. This model can be used to incorporate on-line cardiovascular model parameter estimation and to design a rule-based controller for the LVAS.