Research by Ryan Plemmons

Printable PDF Version

Programmable Controls for a Cardiac Pulsatile Flow Pump

Student: Ryan J. Plemmons

Undergrad. School / Major: Hendrix College/ Physics

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Morten Jensen (BME)

Research Area(s):

Microelectronics

Biological Materials & Processes

Background/Relevance
  • Pulsatile pumps can be used to recreated pulse patterns of the heart to allow research into cardiovascular flow patterns
  • Pulsatile pumps on the market are very expensive and can cost at least $250,000.

Innovation
  • Utilize a stepper motor and Pulse Width Modulation to create a low cost pulsatile pump.
  • Allow for more accurate control of the pump to input different pulses and simulate a variety of situations.

Approach
  • Create a polynomial equation from data of heartbeat pressures.
  • Evaluate the polynomial over a time step and a number of interpolations.
  • Calculate the values of the polynomial at each timestep.
  • Produce a duty cycle for Pulse Width Modulation for each value calculated.
  • Input the series of Pulse Width Modulations to a pump to simulate heart beats.

Key Results
  • An array is built in order to calculate the appropriate time steps based on input from the user.
  • The program also calculates the values at each timestep based on the polynomial that was calculated.
  • The array of polynomial values is then transformed into duty cycle values to input into Pulse Width Modulation.
  • The program can potentially run the Pulse Width Modulation within itself, or it can send the data out to a different program for more control or variability.

Conclusions
  • The LabVIEW program can successfully take a flow pressure plot generated by a heart beat and return an array of values to be transformed into information for pulse width modulation.
  • The cost of manufacturing the in-lab pump is much less expensive and easily within budget for the lab.

Acknowledgements to Dr. Morten Jensen, Sam Stephens for their support and assistance. Research Funded by National Science Foundation REU Grant: NSF/EEC 1757979 REU Site: Tomorrow’s Nanomanufacturing: Engineering with Science (TNEWS)