title: A numerical performance assessment of a commercial cardiopulmonary by-pass blood heat exchanger.
abstract: We developed a numerical model, based on multi-physics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, to assist the design process of a plastic hollow-fiber bundle blood heat exchanger (BHE) integrated within the INSPIRE(TM), a blood oxygenator (OXY) for cardiopulmonary by-pass procedures, recently released by Sorin Group Italia. In a comparative study, we analyzed five different geometrical design solutions of the BHE module. Quantitative geometrical-dependent parameters providing a comprehensive evaluation of both the hemo- and thermo-dynamics performance of the device were extracted to identify the best-performing prototypical solution. A convenient design configuration was identified, characterized by (i) a uniform blood flow pattern within the fiber bundle, preventing blood flow shunting and the onset of stagnation/recirculation areas and/or high velocity pathways, (ii) an enhanced blood heating efficiency, and (iii) a reduced blood pressure drop. The selected design configuration was then prototyped and tested to experimentally characterize the device performance. Experimental results confirmed numerical predictions, proving the effectiveness of CFD modeling as a reliable tool for in silico identification of suitable working conditions of blood handling medical devices. Notably, the numerical approach limited the need for extensive prototyping, thus reducing the corresponding machinery costs and time-to-market.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (MI), Italy. Electronic address: filippo.consolo@polimi.it.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Consolo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (MI), Italy.
authors.forename: Gianfranco B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (MI), Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pelosi
authors.affiliation: Sorin Group Italia, Via Statale 12 Nord 86, 41037 Mirandola (MO), Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reggiani
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (MI), Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Redaelli
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000379:methods*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010107:Oxygenators, Membrane; D013816:Thermodynamics
keywords: Cardiopulmonary by-pass; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer-assisted design; Heat exchange efficiency; Plastic fiber blood heat exchanger