A method for control of an implantable rotary blood pump for heart failure patients using noninvasive measurements.

We propose a deadbeat controller for the control of pulsatile pump flow (Q(p) ) in an implantable rotary blood pump (IRBP). Noninvasive measurements of pump speed and current are used as inputs to a dynamical model of Q(p) estimation, previously developed and verified in our laboratory. The controller was tested using a lumped parameter model of the cardiovascular system (CVS), in combination with the stable dynamical models of Q(p) and differential pressure (head) estimation for the IRBP. The control algorithm was tested with both constant and sinusoidal reference Q(p) as input to the CVS model. Results showed that the controller was able to track the reference input with minimal error in the presence of model uncertainty. Furthermore, Q(p) was shown to settle to the desired reference value within a finite number of sampling periods. Our results also indicated that counterpulsation yields the minimum left ventricular stroke work, left ventricular end diastolic volume, and aortic pulse pressure, without significantly affecting mean cardiac output and aortic pressure.