Design and Experimental Evaluation of a Right Ventricular Assist Device

In this work, preliminary design and experimental evaluation of a novel right ventricular assist device were made. Five impellers and volutes were designed, and 3D printed. All the prototypes were tested to obtain their characteristic H-Q curve. Moreover, CFD simulations were performed on the geometry of the prototype showing the best performances to obtain other information. Based on these results, the prototype was further improved. Finally, the device was inserted in a hybrid simulator able to reproduce several pathological conditions. The RVAD prototype was tested in three different configurations (continuous flow, pulsatile flow in phase and counter-phase with the heart). According to the experimental results obtained from the hybrid simulator, the selected prototype provides adequate support in all the three tested configurations.