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Virginia Commonwealth University

MODERNIZATION OF THE MOCK CIRCULATORY LOOP: ADVANCED PHYSICAL MODELING, HIGH PERFORMANCE HARDWARE, AND INCORPORATION OF ANATOMICAL MODELS

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

A systemic mock circulatory loop plays a pivotal role as the in vitro assessment tool for left heart medical devices. The standard design employed by many research groups dates to the early 1970's, and lacks the acuity needed for the advanced device designs currently being explored. The necessity to update the architecture of this in vitro tool has become apparent as the historical design fails to deliver the performance needed to simulate conditions and events that have been clinically identified as challenges for future device designs. In order to appropriately deliver the testing solution needed, a comprehensive evaluation of the functionality demanded must be understood. The resulting system is a fully automated systemic mock circulatory loop, inclusive of anatomical geometries at critical flow sections, and accompanying software tools to execute precise investigations of cardiac device performance. Delivering this complete testing solution will be achieved through three research aims: (1) Utilization of advanced physical modeling tools to develop a high fidelity computational model of the in vitro system. This model will enable control design of the logic that will govern the in vitro actuators, allow experimental settings to be evaluated prior to execution in the mock circulatory loop, and determination of system settings that replicate clinical patient data. (2) Deployment of a fully automated mock circulatory loop that allows for runtime control of all the settings needed to appropriately construct the conditions of interest. It is essential that the system is able to change set point on the fly; simulation of cardiovascular dynamics and event sequences require this functionality. The robustness of an automated system with incorporated closed loop control logic yields a mock circulatory loop with excellent reproducibility, which is essential for effective device evaluation. (3) Incorporating anatomical geometry at the critical device interfaces; ascending aorta and left atrium. These anatomies represent complex shapes; the flows present in these sections are complex and greatly affect device performance. Increasing the fidelity of the local flow fields at these interfaces delivers a more accurate representation of the device performance in vivo.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Biomedical Engineering
Year dc:date.available
2013

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Taylor, Charles
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Gerald Miller

Subjects

dc:subject × 13

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • © The Author

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1492

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Commonwealth University
Base URL
scholarscompass.vcu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Taylor, Charles. MODERNIZATION OF THE MOCK CIRCULATORY LOOP: ADVANCED PHYSICAL MODELING, HIGH PERFORMANCE HARDWARE, AND INCORPORATION OF ANATOMICAL MODELS. Dissertation thesis, 2013. https://doi.org/10.25772/2VWA-RW38