The Heart Considered as a V-pump: a Bond Graph Model

To understand how the heart carries out its pumping function is a real challenge and it involves multi-disciplinary knowledge. In 1986, Lundbäck suggested that the heart behaves as a piston pump (called DeltaV-pump) with a unique piston shape; this particular design creates pressure gradients that cause the hydraulic return of the piston. The DeltaV-pump combines characteristic from both positive displacement and dynamic pumps. A physical model can be a precious aid for understanding and predicting the dynamics of a complex system, therefore the aim of this thesis work is to suggest and develop a physical model of the hydraulic behavior of the heart based on the V-pump. Due to its domain-independent representation, the bond graph formalism is chosen for the physical model description. The model is implemented and simulated in Dymola, a software platform based on the object-oriented programming language Modelica.Fusion of knowledge from different areas, such as engineering, physiology and computer science, helped to reach the aim.

Autorentext

Elira Maksuti received the Bachelor Degree in Clinical Engineering in 2008 and the Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2011 from Sapienza, University of Rome. She is currently working towards a Ph.D. in applied Medical Engineering at KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.