State-of-the-Art Mock Human Blood Circulation Loop: Prototyping and Introduction of a New Heart Simulator

A novel, fully automated systemic mock human circulation loop (MCL) design is proposed, prototyped, and introduced with a wide literature review of MCL and left ventricular (LV) form and function. Drawbacks and strengths of current MCLs and their pumping systems are investigated and an inference has been made for requirements of a novel MCL design. It has been found that proposed MCL design should not only be capable of replicating a wide range of cardiac operating scenarios, but also the pumping system should better represent LV for simulating various cardiovascular diseases, particularly muscular dysfunctions. Also, the proposed MCL design should be fully automated and control essential MCL parameters such as compliance and resistance. Medical papers showed that LV has principal functionalities such as elastance, torsional, and twisting motion of ventricular wall, which play an important role in motion and contraction of LV. These features are implemented on a proposed pneumatic muscle-actuated heart simulator that only contains a LV chamber.