Nonlinear Flow Rate Response to Pumping Frequency and Reduced Hemolysis in the Drastically Under-Occluded Pulsatile Roller Pump

Roller pumps are widely used in many medical procedures including cardiopulmonary bypass, left/right ventricular assist, and hemodialysis. However, to date, the problem of the roller pumping mechanism causing significant hemolysis remains unresolved. It has been shown that with under-occlusion of the roller pump, hemolysis can be reduced, but significant reduction of the mean flow rate also takes place due to backflow through the under-occlusion. We performed an investigation of the flow dynamics of an under-occluded roller pump which featured significantly higher amount of under-occlusion than previously investigated. Our results showed that the mean flow rate produced by the pump has a strong, nonlinear dependence on pumping frequency. Mean flow rate generally increases with the pumping frequency and the degree of maximum occlusion except at certain frequencies where sharp reductions were observed. These frequencies coincide with the fundamental frequency of the system and its harmonics, bearing resemblance to the impedance pump, suggesting that the drastically under-occluded roller pump is a unique device that employs the pumping mechanisms of both roller pumping and impedance pumping. At the appropriate frequencies, this under-occluded roller pump could sustain sufficiently high flow rates for clinical uses. Blood damage potential of the under-occluded roller pump was compared to a fully occluded roller pump via the assay of free-plasma hemoglobin, and it was found that the under-occlusion reduced hemolysis by about half for any given flow rate. The drastically under-occluded roller pumping reported in this study, therefore, has the potential of being translated into an improved clinical blood pump.