In vitro pulsatile flow waveform simulation and comparison using AC pump and proportional pneumatic valve

Patients, with renal failure, can be taken to the hemodialysis after fistula or graft surgery. In hemodialysis, blood is pumped with the help of the artificial kidney machine and the waste product from the blood is filtered and blood is returned to the patients after cleaning process. AV graft implantation is the creation of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) bridge a bridge between the arteries and veins. In this study simulation of the pulsatile flow signal in the AV graft and vein connection is aimed experimentally. Suitable for this purpose AC centrifugal pump, pump driver card, pneumatic valve, data acquisition card, flow meters and other equipments are used for close loop control mechanism in laboratory. Pulsatile waveforms obtained by AC centrifugal pump and pneumatic valve performance are compared to each other in close loop control. The results showed that AV graft signal can be modeled by AC centrifugal pump and pneumatic valve successfully. Current study could be a guide and motivation to the establishment of the different experimental systems in future.