Hemodynamic performance evaluation of neonatal ECMO double lumen cannula using fluid–structure interaction

Abstract Extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an artificial oxygenation facility, employed in situations of cardio‐pulmonary failure. Some diseases i.e., acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary hypertension, corona virus disease (COVID‐19) etc. affect oxygenation performance of the lungs thus requiring the need of artificial oxygenation. Critical care teams used ECMO technique during the COVID‐19 pandemic to support the heart and lungs of COVID‐19 patients who had an acute respiratory or cardiac failure. Double Lumen Cannula (DLC) is one of the most critical components of ECMO as it resides inside the patient and, connects patient with external oxygenation circuit. DLC facilitates delivery and drainage of blood from the patient's body. DLC is characterized by delicate balance of internal and external flows inside a limited space of the right atrium (RA). An optimal performance of the DLC necessitates structural stability under biological and hemodynamic loads, a fact that has been overlooked by previously published studies. In the past, many researchers experimentally and computationally investigated the hemodynamic performance of DLC by employing Eulerian approach, which evaluate instantaneous blood damage without considering blood shear exposure history (qualitative assessment only). The present study is an attempt to address the aforementioned limitations of the previous studies by employing Lagrangian (quantitative assessment) and incorporating the effect of fluid–structure interaction (FSI) to study the hemodynamic performance of neonatal DLC. The study was performed by solving three‐dimensional continuity, momentum, and structural mechanics equation(s) by numerical methods for the blood flow through neonatal DLC. A two‐way coupled FSI analysis was performed to analyze the effect of DLC structural deformation on its hemodynamic performance. Results show that the return lumen was the most critical section with maximum pressure drop, velocity, shear stresses, and blood damage. Recirculation and residence time of blood in the right atrium (RA) increases with increasing blood flow rates. Considering the structural deformation has led to higher blood damage inside the DLC‐atrium system. Maximum Von‐Mises stress was present on the side edges of the return lumen that showed direct proportionality with the blood flow rate.