A pulse duplicator is a device used to duplicate the pulsing flow of the human heart and the associated

hemodynamics Hemodynamics or haemodynamics are the dynamics of blood flow. The circulatory system is controlled by homeostatic mechanisms of autoregulation, just as hydraulic circuits are controlled by control systems. The hemodynamic response continuously ...

. It is used to research the conditions of heart disease. Pulse duplicators can be used to conduct

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

ex vivo refers to biological studies involving tissues, organs, or cells maintained outside their native organism under controlled laboratory conditions. By carefully managing factors such as temperature, oxygenation, nutrient delivery, and perfusi ...

testing. Common uses include testing new

artificial heart valves An artificial heart valve is a one-way valve implanted into a person's heart to replace a heart valve that is not functioning properly (valvular heart disease). Artificial heart valves can be separated into three broad classes: mechanical hear ...

and simulating procedures like transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Design

A pulse duplicator replicates parts of the circulatory system. Many pulse duplicators model only half the heart, commonly the left atrium and ventricle, in order to test the

mitral The mitral valve ( ), also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve, is one of the four heart valves. It has two Cusps of heart valves, cusps or flaps and lies between the atrium (heart), left atrium and the ventricle (heart), ...

and aortic valves. A common design to model the heart uses a

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...

to simulate the contraction and expansion of the heart. An alternate design uses a flexible plastic heart model, or an ex vivo heart, and applies

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

pressure to induce contraction and expansion. The circulatory system blood vessels are typically modeled using tubing. Compliance chambers and narrow tubing can be used to model the Windkessel effect. A pulse duplicator is categorized as a lump parameter model, also known as a Windkessel model, if it uses a limited set of compliance chambers and resistance tubing to model the sum of circulatory compliance and resistance. A pulse duplicator is a wave propagation model if it physically replicates the circulatory system in a more anatomically correct manner. A pulse duplicator is filled with a fluid with a similar

viscosity Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent drag (physics), resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for e ...

and

specific gravity Relative density, also called specific gravity, is a dimensionless quantity defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for solids and liquids is nea ...

compared to blood. One such blood analog is a mixture of water,

glycerol Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...

, and a small amount of

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as Salt#Edible salt, edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs a ...

References

Medical equipment Cardiology {{Medical-equipment-stub