A Starling-like total work controller for rotary blood pumps: An in vitro evaluation

Wu, E. L., Stevens, M. C., Nestler, F., Pauls, J. P., Bradley, A. P., Tansley, G., Fraser, J. F., & Gregory, S. D. (2020). A Starling-like total work controller for rotary blood pumps: An in vitro evaluation. Artificial organs, 44(3), E40–E53. https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.13570

Due to improved durability and survival rates, rotary blood pumps (RBPs) are the preferred left ventricular assist device when compared to volume displacement pumps. However, when operated at constant speed, RBPs lack a volume balancing mechanism which may result in left ventricular suction and suboptimal ventricular unloading. Starling-like controllers have previously been developed to balance circulatory volumes; however, they do not consider ventricular workload as a feedback and may have limited sensitivity to adjust RBP workload when ventricular function deteriorates or improves.