In Silico Evaluation of a Physiological Controller for a Rotary Blood Pump Based on a Sensorless Estimator

In this study, we present a sensorless, robust, and physiological tracking control method to drive the operational speed of implantable rotary blood pumps (IRBPs) for patients with heart failure (HF). The method used sensorless measurements of the pump flow to track the desired reference flow ((Formula presented.)). A dynamical estimator model was used to estimate the average pump flow ((Formula presented.)) based on pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals. A proportional-integral (PI) controller integrated with a fuzzy logic control (FLC) system was developed to automatically adapt the pump flow. The (Formula presented.) was modeled as a constant and trigonometric function using an elastance function ((Formula presented.))) to achieve a variation in the metabolic demand. The proposed method was evaluated in silico using a lumped parameter model of the cardiovascular system (CVS) under rest and exercise scenarios. The findings demonstrated that the proposed control system efficiently updated the pump speed of the IRBP to avoid suction or overperfusion. In all scenarios, the numerical results for the left atrium pressure ((Formula presented.)), aortic pressure ((Formula presented.)), and left ventricle pressure ((Formula presented.)) were clinically accepted. The (Formula presented.) accurately tracked the (Formula presented.) within an error of 0.25 L/min.