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Experimental Study on Hemolysis in Centrifugal Blood Pumps: Improvement of Flow Visualization Method
Author(s) -
Ahmed Shahriar,
Funakubo Akio,
Sakuma Ichiro,
Fukui Yasuhiro,
Dohi Takeyoshi
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
artificial organs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1525-1594
pISSN - 0160-564X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1594.1999.06399.x
Subject(s) - hemolysis , centrifugal pump , visualization , flow visualization , blood flow , biomedical engineering , medicine , flow (mathematics) , computer science , engineering , mechanics , cardiology , mechanical engineering , physics , impeller
To evaluate rotary blood pumps, flow visualization is commonly applied to determine the flow patterns in a centrifugal blood pump, which have a relationship to its hemolytic performance. However, it is very troublesome to visualize the flow near the vanes due to the high rotational speed of the impeller. The rotational speed of the impeller in a centrifugal blood pump is usually several hundred revolutions per minute. In this study, we combined a high‐speed video camera based imaging method and an optical system in which the image of the rotating impeller was kept stationary. In the optical system, a prism rotating at half the speed of the impeller reflected the image of the impeller. The resultant reflected image was observed by a high‐speed video camera through a half mirror. With this optical setup, the image through the half mirror became stationary, and the path of a specific tracer particle could be traced for a longer duration. A longer duration of measurements and better quality of the obtained images were realized through this improvement. Movement of a specific tracer from the inlet portion to the outlet portion of the impeller could be examined using the developed method.