A device for simulating pulsatile flow of blood in a blood vessel

Abstract

The application discloses a blood vessel blood pulsating flow simulation device, which comprises a pulsating flow module and a water source module. The pulsating flow module comprises a pipe body with two open ends, an isolating piece arranged along the length direction of the pipe body and used for separating the whole or part of the pipe body into an upper fluid channel and a lower fluid channel, and two support seats arranged on the inner side of the pipe body and used for fixing the two end portions of the flexible sheet respectively. The distance between the two support seats is smaller than the length of the flexible sheet, and the flexible sheet has at least one protruding bump portion in the length direction of the flexible sheet, which protrudes towards the direction of the upper fluid channel or the lower fluid channel. The water source module is used for providing water flow for the pulsating flow module. The application has the advantages of simple structure and low cost.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a blood vessel simulation device, in particular to a blood vessel blood pulsatile flow simulation device. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are the diseases with the highest mortality rate in the world, so it is of great significance to study the flow characteristics inside the blood vessels. The current main research methods include in vitro experiments and numerical simulation. Among them, in vitro experiments mainly measure the blood flow characteristics by constructing a similar biomechanical environment in vitro. In the process of blood filling and pressure charging in clinical surgical teaching, it is still common to use a syringe pump to pump blood plasma into the blood vessel to simulate blood flow. The conventional syringe pump generally outputs constant flow, and the pulsatile characteristics of blood flow cannot be well reflected, which has certain gap with the blood flow in vivo. At present, the general method to simulate the physiological pulsatile flow in the human body is to externally connect a pulsatile water flow generating device, such as a pulse valve, a pulse pump, etc. However, such devices have complex structure and high cost, and are generally used in scientific research units, but are not suitable for low-cost demand medical teaching simulation and other scenes.

[0003] Chinese patent application No. 202110178101.8, published on March 15, 2022, and entitled "A blood vessel blood pressure simulation device" discloses a simulation device that can simulate water flow with pulses in the blood vessel, thereby more realistically simulating human blood and improving the accuracy of anastomotic leakage detection. The blood vessel blood pressure simulation device relies on the cooperation of the flow limiting module and the pulse generating device to form a pulsatile flow device similar to blood flow, which can more realistically simulate human blood flow, but it still has the following obvious defects:

[0004] 1. The generation of pulsatile flow in the tube depends on the externally connected pulse generating device, which has high cost, and the entire device involves multiple modules, which has a relatively complex structure.

[0005] 2. In actual operation, the pulsatile pump needs to be continuously powered to ensure its operation, which is not energy-saving and environmentally friendly, and the rotation of the pulsatile pump blades will damage blood cells to some extent. SUMMARY

[0006] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, the present application provides a blood vessel blood pulsatile flow simulation device with simple structure and low cost.

[0007] The technical scheme adopted by the present application to solve its technical problems is: a blood vessel blood pulsating flow simulation device, comprising: a pulsating flow module, the pulsating flow module comprises a pipe body with two open ends, the pipe body is provided with a separation piece arranged along the length direction of the pipe body and used for separating the whole or part of the pipe body into an upper fluid passage and a lower fluid passage, the separation piece is a flexible sheet, the width of the flexible sheet is matched with the width of the pipe body, the inner side of the pipe body is provided with two support seats used for fixing the two end portions of the flexible sheet respectively, the distance between the two support seats is smaller than the length of the flexible sheet, and the flexible sheet has at least one protruding part protruding towards the direction of the upper fluid passage or the lower fluid passage in the length direction of the flexible sheet; and a water source module used for providing water flow for the pulsating flow module.

[0008] The present application has the following advantages: 1. The flexible sheet itself is longer than the length of the support seat, and when it is pre-installed in the pipe body, the flexible sheet has at least one protruding part protruding towards the direction of the fluid passage or the lower fluid passage (i.e. in a pre-pressed state). When water (or other liquid) is introduced into one end of the pipe body, the water flows from above and below the flexible sheet and flows out from the other end of the pipe body, at this time the pre-pressed flexible sheet will undergo a periodic jumping phenomenon under the flow load from above and below. Here, the jumping phenomenon refers to: the protruding part of the flexible sheet is subjected to a greater fluid pressure in the flow passage, so it will protrude towards the position of the fluid passage with smaller pressure on the other side, followed by the repeated jumping process of the protruding part of the flexible sheet, in which the direction of the protruding part of the flexible sheet changes rapidly, from one system to another, to realize the repeated switching between the two equilibrium states, thereby periodically changing the flow area of the upper and lower flow passages (i.e. blocking part of the flow passage to change the pressure in the flow passage) to achieve the function of generating pulsating flow. The flexible sheet separates the pipe body into an upper fluid passage and a lower fluid passage, the initial flow in the upper and lower fluid passages is constant, and the leakage of the upper and lower fluid passages in the pipe is negligible. Through the continuous switching of the flexible sheet, the pressure in the flow passage on both sides of the flexible sheet fluctuates periodically, thereby continuously forming a pulsating flow downstream of the flexible sheet. The present application can be used for the simulation of flow with pulsating characteristics in nature, such as blood flow, respiratory tract flow, kidney tubule flow, etc., and can also be used for the generation of waves, pulsating flow and oscillating flow in the engineering field, and has great potential application value.

[0009] The present application has the following advantages: 1. The structure is simple, and compared with the traditional mechanical structure, the flexible sheet type structure is simple, the pulsating characteristics are adjustable, and the mechanism of realizing the pulsating flow is simple and clear.

[0010] 2. Self-driven, compared with the pulsating flow generation device driven by an electric signal, the flexible sheet type pulsating flow generation device has a self-driving effect, the flexible sheet induces self-excited oscillation by directly collecting flow energy, without the need for external driving mechanism, energy saving and reliable.

[0011] 3. Bidirectional conduction, the general pulse flow generating device such as pulse valve is designed as unidirectional conduction, and the flexible sheet structure in the application still exists due to the jump characteristics after the flow direction in the pipeline is changed, so it has bidirectional conduction and is more convenient to install without considering the installation direction.

[0012] 4. Adjustable size, unlike the pulse flow generating device with precise mechanical structure, the size is easy to change, and the cost of the flexible sheet changing size and material is low, so it can be widely used for simulating the pipeline pulse flow under different pipe diameters and flow rates.

[0013] 5. Low cost, compared with the mechanical structure, the flexible sheet structure is simple, and the material cost and maintenance cost are greatly reduced.

[0014] 6. Little damage to the flowing medium, since the device is based on flexible structure, it will not damage the flowing medium such as blood flow like pulse pump, and also reduces the experimental noise caused by pump group operation.

[0015] Further set as: the pulse flow module includes sliding clamps fixed at both ends of the flexible sheet, the support seats are fixedly arranged at the openings of both ends of the pipe body, each support seat separates the opening of each end of the pipe body into an upper opening and a lower opening, and a slide is arranged on the support seat for inserting the sliding clamp, and the sliding clamp and the slide are in sealing cooperation; the flexible sheet separates the pipe body along the length direction into an upper fluid channel and a lower fluid channel, the inlet of the upper fluid channel is connected with one of the upper openings, and the outlet is connected with the other upper opening, the inlet of the lower fluid channel is connected with one of the lower openings, and the outlet is connected with the other lower opening, and the inlet of the upper fluid channel and the inlet of the lower fluid channel are located on the same side; an inlet three-way pipe and an outlet three-way pipe are respectively arranged at the openings of both ends of the pipe body, the first pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe is connected with the inlet of the upper fluid channel, and the second pipe port is connected with the inlet of the lower fluid channel, the first pipe port of the outlet three-way pipe is connected with the outlet of the upper fluid channel, and the second pipe port is connected with the outlet of the lower fluid channel.

[0016] Further set as: the water source module is a pressure water source, and the pressure water source is connected with the third pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe to provide water source for the pulse flow module.

[0017] Further set as: the water source module is a liquid storage unit and a pump, the liquid storage unit is provided with a water outlet and a water return port, the third pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe is connected with the water outlet, the third pipe port of the outlet three-way pipe is connected with the water return port, and the water outlet, the pump and the water return port are sequentially connected to form a liquid circulation loop to provide water source for the pulse flow module.

[0018] Further setting: the pulsating flow module includes sliding clamps fixed at both ends of the flexible sheet respectively, and the support seat is fixedly arranged in the pipe body and is provided with a slide for inserting the sliding clamps, and the sliding clamps and the slide are in sealing cooperation.

[0019] Further setting: the water source module is a pressure water source connected with the opening at one end of the pipe body, thereby providing the pulsating flow module with water source.

[0020] Further setting: the water source module is a liquid storage unit and a pump, the liquid storage unit is provided with a water outlet and a water return port, the opening at one end of the pipe body is communicated with the water outlet, the opening at the other end of the pipe body is communicated with the water return port, and the water outlet, the pump and the water return port are sequentially connected to form a liquid circulation loop, thereby providing the pulsating flow module with water source. This helps to provide a circulating water source, realize the recycling of the water source, and save energy.

[0021] Further setting: the cross section of the pipe body is square, the plane of the flexible sheet is arranged perpendicularly to the cross section of the pipe body, and the plane of the flexible sheet is arranged in parallel with any side of the square; the width of the pipe body is D, the width of the flexible sheet is d, and 0.3D≤d≤0.99D; the height of the cross section of the pipe body is H, and the height of the plane of the flexible sheet is h, and 0.25H≤h≤0.75H.

[0022] Further setting: the flexible sheet is made of a flexible metal sheet or a plastic sheet; and the plastic sheet is made of PET or PTFE.

[0023] Further setting: the bending stiffness of the flexible sheet is 1e -8 ~1e -6 N / m 2 , the density of the flexible sheet is 1200-1500 kg / m 3 , the Young's modulus is 0.4-0.6 GPa, and the Poisson's ratio is 0.30-0.38. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structure schematic view of the pulsating flow module of the embodiment one of the present application.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a sectional view of the pulsating flow module of the embodiment one of the present application.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a structure schematic view of the pulsating flow module of the embodiment one of the present application, and the sliding clamps and the flexible sheet are omitted.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a structure schematic view of the sliding clamps and the flexible sheet of the embodiment one of the present application.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pulsed flow module, the inlet tee, and the outlet tee of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pulse flow module in embodiment four of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of Embodiment Six of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0033] Example 1: As Figures 1-5 As shown, this embodiment includes a pulsating flow module 1 and a water source module 5. The pulsating flow module 1 includes a pipe body 11 with openings at both ends. Inside the pipe body 11, there is a separator that is arranged along the length of the pipe body and is used to completely divide the pipe body 11 into an upper fluid channel 111 and a lower fluid channel 112. The separator is a flexible sheet 31. The width of the flexible sheet 31 is adapted to the width of the pipe body 11. The inner side of the pipe body 11 is provided with two support seats 12 for fixing the two ends of the flexible sheet 31 respectively. The distance between the two support seats 12 is less than the length of the flexible sheet 31, and the flexible sheet 31 has a protrusion in its length direction that protrudes towards the direction of the upper fluid channel 111. The pulsating flow module 1 includes sliding clips 21 and support seats 12 fixedly disposed at the openings at both ends of the tube body 11. The sliding clips 21 are fixed to both ends of the flexible sheet 31. Each support seat 12 completely separates the openings at each end of the tube body 11 into independent upper opening 1111 and lower opening 1121. The support seat 12 has a slide rail 121 for inserting the sliding clips 21, and the sliding clips 21 and the slide rail 121 maintain a sealed fit. The sliding clips 21 can slide within the slide rail 121. By sliding the two sliding clips 21, the distance between the two sliding clips 21 changes, thereby changing the degree of bulging of the flexible sheet 31 between the two sliding clips 21 (i.e., changing the initial deformation degree of the flexible sheet 31). The change in the initial deformation degree will change the pressure threshold at which the jump occurs, so different pulsating pressure amplitudes and frequencies can be simulated by adjusting the initial deformation of the flexible sheet 31. Furthermore, the fluid pressure required for the flexible sheet 31 to achieve a jump can be changed. For example, the height of the bulge at the same flexible sheet 31 can be adjusted to change the pressure required for the flexible sheet 31 to jump. The higher the bulge, the greater the pressure required for the jump; conversely, the lower the bulge, the smaller the pressure required.

[0034] The flexible sheet 31 is detachably fixed on the support base 12 through the sliding clamping sheet 21, and the pipe body 11 is completely divided into the upper fluid passage 111 and the lower fluid passage 112 along the length direction through the left support base 12, the flexible sheet 31 and the right support base 12. The inlet of the upper fluid passage 111 corresponds to the upper opening at one end of the pipe body 11, the outlet of the upper fluid passage 111 corresponds to the upper opening at the other end of the pipe body 11, the inlet of the lower fluid passage 112 corresponds to the lower opening at one end of the pipe body 11, and the outlet of the lower fluid passage 112 corresponds to the lower opening at the other end of the pipe body 11. The inlet of the upper fluid passage 111 and the inlet of the lower fluid passage 112 are located at the same side. The inlet three-way pipe 41 and the outlet three-way pipe 42 are respectively installed at the openings at both ends of the pipe body 11. The first pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe 41 is connected with the inlet of the upper fluid passage 111, and the second pipe port is connected with the inlet of the lower fluid passage 112. The first pipe port of the outlet three-way pipe 42 is connected with the outlet of the upper fluid passage 111, and the second pipe port is connected with the outlet of the lower fluid passage 112. The connection between the first pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe 41 and the inlet of the upper fluid passage 111 is only a schematic effect in the figure (the connection between the pipe and the pipe is the same) Figure 8 in the actual application, which can be realized through a soft tube such as a rubber tube, Figure 1 The peripheral edge of the upper opening 1111 can be connected with the first pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe 41 through an extension base, a soft tube and glue. The connection mode of the lower opening 1121 is the same as the above. Therefore, there are many conventional ways to realize the connection between the pulsating flow module 1 and the corresponding pipeline for those skilled in the art, and the specific connection mode will not be described in detail in the present application, and the same applies to other embodiments below.

[0035] The water source module 5 is a common pressure water source, which is directly connected with a tap water pipe (not shown in the embodiment). The tap water pipe is connected with the third pipe port of the inlet three-way pipe 41 and is used to provide continuous pressure water flow for the entire pulsating flow module.

[0036] In the embodiment, the pipe body 11 is circular, the diameter of the pipe body 11 is D, the width of the flexible sheet is d, and d = 0.99D. The height of the cross section of the pipe body 11 is H, and the height of the plane where the flexible sheet 31 is located is h, and h = 0.5H. The flexible sheet 31 is made of a flexible plastic sheet. The characteristics of the flexible sheet 31 can also be as follows: made of PET material, the thickness of the flexible sheet 31 is 1mm, the bending stiffness of the flexible sheet 31 is 1e -7 N / m 2 , and the density is 1380kg / m 3, the Poisson's ratio is 0.34. Alternatively, the PET material is used to make the flexible sheet 31, the thickness of the flexible sheet 31 is 0.8 mm, and the bending stiffness of the flexible sheet 31 is 1e -6 N / m 2 , the density is 1500 kg / m 3 , the Young's modulus is 0.6 GPa, and the Poisson's ratio is 0.38. The flexible sheet 31 under the two standards can also meet the rapid jump reaction in the embodiment. The bending stiffness of the flexible sheet 31 can be selected in the range of 1e -8 ~1e -6 N / m 2 , the density of the flexible sheet 31 can be selected in the range of 1200~1500 kg / m 3 , the Young's modulus can be selected in the range of 0.4~0.6 GPa, and the Poisson's ratio can be selected in the range of 0.30~0.38. In addition, the flexible sheet 31 can also be made of other plastic materials that meet the embodiment, or flexible aluminum sheet, copper sheet, etc. The specific parameters or materials of the flexible sheet can be easily selected by the person skilled in the art according to the actual application scene and fluid (satisfying the jump reaction can be achieved), therefore, the flexible sheet 31 will not be described again.

[0037] In actual application, other teaching devices such as heart, kidney, lung, etc. can be added to detect the suture effect through the pulsatile flow. Alternatively, other components can be added to expand the application scene of the device.

[0038] Embodiment two: The difference between the embodiment one and the embodiment two is that the cross section of the pipe body 11 is square, the plane of the flexible sheet 31 is perpendicular to the cross section of the pipe body 11, and the plane of the flexible sheet 31 is parallel to any side of the square. D is the side of the pipe body 11 corresponding to the width of the flexible sheet 31, then the relationship between the width d of the flexible sheet 31 and the width D of the pipe body is: d=0.99D (the range can be selected in 0.3D≤d≤0.99D). The relationship between the height h of the plane of the flexible sheet 31 and the height H of the cross section of the pipe body 11 is: h=0.5H (the range can be selected in 0.25H≤h≤0.75H).

[0039] Embodiment three: As Figure 6As shown, the difference from the first embodiment is mainly the water source module 5, which is a liquid storage unit and a pump 52. The liquid storage unit is a water tank 51, which is provided with a water outlet 511 and a water return port 512. The third port of the inlet three-way pipe 41 is connected to the water outlet 512, and the third port of the outlet three-way pipe 42 is connected to the water return port 511. The pulsatile flow module 1, the water outlet 511, the water return port 512, and the pump 52 are sequentially connected to form a liquid circulation loop. The position of the pump 52 can be installed at any position in the liquid circulation loop. The connection between the pulsatile flow module 1 and the inlet three-way pipe 41 and the outlet three-way pipe 42 is shown in the figure for the purpose of illustration. In actual use, the connection between the pipes and the connection between the ports are well known to those skilled in the art, and no further description is provided here.

[0040] In actual use, other teaching devices such as heart, kidney, lung, and other organ models can be added to detect the suture effect through pulsatile flow. Alternatively, other components can be added to expand the application scenarios.

[0041] Example Four: As shown, Figure 7 The difference from the first embodiment is mainly the pulsatile flow module 1, in which the support seat 12 is fixedly arranged inside the pipe body 11. The support seat 12 is provided with a sliding channel 121 for inserting the sliding clamp 21. The sliding clamp 21 and the sliding channel 121 are in sealing cooperation. In this embodiment, the support seat 12 is located inside the pipe body 11, rather than at the opening of the end of the pipe body 11, as shown in the figure.

[0042] Correspondingly, the water source module 5 is a common pressure water source, such as a direct connection to a water pipe. The water pipe is directly connected to the opening of the end of the pipe body 11 and is used to provide a continuous pressure water flow for the entire pulsatile flow module.

[0043] Example Five: The difference from the fourth embodiment is mainly that the cross-section of the pipe body 11 is square. The plane of the flexible sheet 31 is perpendicular to the cross-section of the pipe body 11, and the plane of the flexible sheet 31 is parallel to any side of the square.

[0044] Example Six: As shown, Figure 8 The difference from the fourth embodiment is mainly the water source module 5, which is a liquid storage unit and a pump 52. The liquid storage unit is a water tank 51, which is provided with a water outlet 512 and a water return port 511. The opening of one end of the pipe body 11 is connected to the water outlet 512, and the opening of the other end of the pipe body 11 is connected to the water return port 511. The pulsatile flow module 1, the water outlet 512, the water return port 511, and the pump 52 are sequentially connected to form a liquid circulation loop.

[0045] The applicant finds through experiments that the pulsating flow intensity generated by the pulsating flow module in embodiment one is 8-13% higher than the pulsating flow intensity generated by the pulsating flow module in embodiment four in terms of impact efficiency, and therefore the more preferred technical solutions in the application are the technical solutions disclosed in embodiments one to three.

Claims

1. A device for simulating pulsating blood flow in blood vessels, characterized in that, The utility model relates to a pulsating flow module, a water source module for providing water flow for the pulsating flow module, and a water source module. Each support seat separates the opening of each end of the pipe body into an upper opening and a lower opening, and the flexible sheet separates the pipe body along the length direction into an upper fluid passage and a lower fluid passage. The inlet of the upper fluid passage is connected with one of the upper openings, and the outlet is connected with the other upper opening. The inlet of the lower fluid passage is connected with one of the lower openings, and the outlet is connected with the other lower opening.

2. The vascular pulsatile flow simulation device of claim 1, wherein: The pulsating flow module comprises a sliding clamp fixed to each end of the flexible sheet. The inlet of the upper fluid passage and the inlet of the lower fluid passage are located on the same side. An inlet three-way pipe and an outlet three-way pipe are respectively installed at the openings of the two ends of the pipe body.

3. The vascular pulsatile flow simulator of claim 2, wherein: The first pipe opening of the inlet three-way pipe is connected with the inlet of the upper fluid passage, and the second pipe opening is connected with the inlet of the lower fluid passage.

4. The vascular pulsatile flow simulator of claim 2, wherein: The first pipe opening of the outlet three-way pipe is connected with the outlet of the upper fluid passage, and the second pipe opening is connected with the outlet of the lower fluid passage.

5. The vascular pulsatile flow simulation device of claim 1, wherein: The water source module is a pressure water source connected with the third pipe opening of the inlet three-way pipe.

6. The vascular pulsatile flow simulator of claim 5, wherein: The water source module is a liquid storage unit and a pump.

7. The vascular pulsatile flow simulator of claim 5, wherein: The third pipe opening of the inlet three-way pipe is connected with the water outlet, and the third pipe opening of the outlet three-way pipe is connected with the water return outlet.

8. The vascular pulsatile flow simulation device of claim 1, wherein: The water outlet, the pump, and the water return outlet are sequentially connected to form a liquid circulation loop. The water source module is a pressure water source connected with the opening of one end of the pipe body. The water source module is a liquid storage unit and a pump. The opening of one end of the pipe body is connected with the water outlet, and the opening of the other end of the pipe body is connected with the water return outlet. The cross section of the pipe body is square, and the plane of the flexible sheet is perpendicular to the cross section of the pipe body. The width of the pipe body is D, and the width of the flexible sheet is d. The height of the cross section of the pipe body is H, and the height of the plane of the flexible sheet is h. 0.3D≤d≤0.99D 0.25H≤h≤0.75H 9. The vascular pulsatile flow simulation device of claim 1, wherein: The flexible sheet is made of a flexible metal sheet or a plastic sheet; The plastic sheet is any one of PET, PTFE.

10. The vascular pulsatile flow simulation device of claim 1, wherein: The bending stiffness of the flexible sheet is 1e -8 ~1e -6 N / m 2 The density of the flexible sheet is 1200~1500 kg / m 3 The Young's modulus is 0.4~0.6 GPa, and the Poisson's ratio is 0.30~0.38.

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