title: Control and monitoring system for clinically employed pneumatic blood pumps.
abstract: Instantaneous position of the flexing member in pneumatic blood pumps is monitored on-line by measuring the electrical capacitance across the gas space within the pump. Monitor output is utilized in closed-loop pump control and for automatic pump shutdown in response to operational abnormalities. Thus, safety and efficacy are enhanced through operational optimization, automatic safety features, and facilitated evaluation.
mesh_terms: D001243:Assisted Circulation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006801:Humans