Fluid dynamics aspects of miniaturized axial-flow blood pump

Rotary blood pump (RBP) is a kind of crucial ventricular assist device (VAD) and its advantages have been evidenced and acknowledged in recent years. Among the factors that influence the operation performance and the durability of various rotary blood pumps, medium property and the flow features in pump's flow passages are conceivably significant. The major concern in this paper is the fluid dynamics aspects of such a kind of miniaturized pump. More specifically, the structural features of axial-flow blood pump and corresponding flow features are analyzed in detail. The narrow flow passage between blade tips and pump casing and the rotor-stator interaction (RSI) zone may exert a negative effect on the shear stress distribution in the blood flow. Numerical techniques are briefly introduced in view of their contribution to facilitating the optimal design of blood pump and the visualization of shear stress distribution and multiphase flow analysis. Additionally, with the development of flow measurement techniques, the high-resolution, effective and non-intrusive flow measurement techniques catering to the measurement of the flows inside rotary blood pumps are highly anticipated.