Assessment of left heart and pulmonary circulation flow dynamics by a new pulsed mock circulatory system

We developed a new mock circulatory system that is able to accurately simulate the human blood circulation from the pulmonary valve to the peripheral systemic capillaries. Two independent hydraulic activations are used to activate an anatomical-shaped left atrial and a left ventricular silicon molds. Using a lumped model, we deduced the optimal voltage signals to control the pumps. We used harmonic analysis to validate the experimental pulmonary and systemic circulation models. Because realistic volumes are generated for the cavities and the resulting pressures were also coherent, the left atrium and left ventricle pressure–volume loops were concordant with those obtained in vivo. Finally we explored left atrium flow pattern using 2C-3D+T PIV measurements. This gave a first overview of the complex 3D flow dynamics inside realistic left atrium geometry.