Abstract:
During past decades, various cardiac assist devices were invented. These cardiac assist
devices can be classified into two categories: parallel connected or sequentially
connected to the natural heart. In the past, more attention was paid to the assistance
of the device provided to the failing heart and most research was conducted towards
that goal. While less attention was paid to the “dose” of the assistance for rehabilitation
of the natural heart. In our study, the hemodynamic effects of parallel as well as
sequential cardiac assist devices are investigated in terms of the working load to
the natural heart, and the oxygen supply and consumption of the natural heart. Preliminary
results show that the sequential assistance could reduce the working load of the natural
heart as well as increase the coronary flow. The results also indicate that the control
scheme of the cardiac assist device has effect on the oxygen supply and consumption
of the natural heart. There is optimal “dose” of assistance for the rehabilitation
of the natural heart.
Keywords:
Ventricular Assist Devices - Regional Ischemia - Cardiac Function Recovery - Computer
Simulation
