Blood Pump Hemolysis Control via Motor Speed Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanical circulatory support devices, such as percutaneous ventricular assist devices, cause hemolysis due to the interaction with blood, leading to adverse effects like thrombi formation, fatigue, and yellowing of skin, and existing management strategies are reactive rather than proactive, making it difficult to mitigate these issues effectively.
Innovation Solution
A circulatory support system with a blood pump driven by a motor, equipped with sensors to monitor motor speed and pressure, and a controller that determines the rate of hemolysis based on these parameters, adjusts command signals to reduce flow rate, and recommends hemolysis tests or pump changes to prevent adverse effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the blood pump operates at high flow rates to provide effective circulatory support, then the circulatory support effectiveness is improved, but the rate of hemolysis increases causing adverse effects
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors hemolysis markers (such as free hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, or bilirubin) in the patient's blood and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the blood pump's operational parameters. The controller receives hemolysis test results and automatically modifies flow rate, pressure, or pump speed to maintain effective circulatory support while minimizing hemolysis. This closed-loop control enables the system to respond to changing patient conditions and prevent excessive hemolysis before adverse effects occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters of the blood pump based on hemolysis monitoring data. When hemolysis markers exceed predetermined thresholds, the controller adjusts parameters such as reducing flow rate, modifying pump speed, or altering pressure settings. These parameter changes allow the system to maintain adequate circulatory support while operating in a hemolysis-minimizing regime, directly addressing the contradiction between productivity and harmful effects.
2Device complexity
If existing reactive management strategies are used to address hemolysis, then the system structure remains simple, but the ability to mitigate adverse effects is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring hemolysis markers and proactively adjusting pump parameters before adverse effects manifest. Rather than waiting for symptoms of hemolysis to appear and then reacting, the system detects early signs of excessive hemolysis through biomarker monitoring and preemptively modifies operational parameters to prevent thrombi formation, fatigue, yellowing of skin, and other adverse effects. This proactive approach enhances reliability without requiring complex additional hardware beyond the monitoring and control integration.
Data Source
AI summary
A circulatory support system may include a blood pump, one or more sensors, and a controller in communication with the one or more sensors. The blood pump may include a driven component and a motor in communication with the driven component to drive the driven component to pump a blood flow through the blood pump. A sensor of the one or more sensors may be configured to sense a value related to a speed of the motor. The controller may be configured to provide a command signal to the motor to drive the driven component and determine a rate of hemolysis during operation of the blood pump based on an operation parameter of the blood pump.