Date of Award

Summer 8-16-2024

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Advisor

Nuri W. Emanetoglu

Second Committee Member

Rosemary Smith

Third Committee Member

Giovanna Guidoboni

Abstract

This research explores a new blood pump for patients with single ventricle defects, who went through the Fontan procedure. The patients having Fontan graft lack the pressure created by systole in the human body, which pushes the oxygen-poor blood to the lungs to be oxygenated. The aim of this work is to lay the foundation for developing an electromagnetic device that can assist the blood flow from the heart to the lungs by replacing the existing mechanical right ventricular assist device with rotary parts that result in health hazards. The concept of magnetohydrodynamic pump, based on Lorentz force, is investigated as a potential solution, and the mathematical model, along with the experimental result and analysis are presented. The proposed modeling is unique in terms of input parameters and ultimate application. The impact of current, magnetic field and cross-sectional geometry are illustrated, proving the fact that the increment in current density and magnetic field linearly affect the flow velocity. Although the length of the electrode has no impact on flow velocity, it is inversely proportional to the width. The increment in radius of the system also affects the velocity positively. This research also presents an elaboration of the experimental setup, measurement methods, some practical challenges of the system, and potential solutions. The practical feasibility of the model is demonstrated using a standard saline solution. The parameters of the existing Fontan graft of 12 mm length and 1.8 cm diameter are used to design, and fabricate the 3d-printed housings. Pt mesh electrodes are used as electrodes for current input. The length of the electrodes were varied from 10 cm to 6 cm. Neodymium magnets within 2050 Gauss to 3000 Gauss were used to create around 600 Gauss and 400 Gauss magnetic field input at the center of the pump. The experimental results with two distinct supply types, DC and pulsed, are presented and analyzed. The voltage input was varied from 1.5 VDc to 4VDc to observe the system behavior, which generated a current in the range of 10 mA to 190 mA. The bubble generation from the DC supply made it difficult to have a constant current value in the system. Therefore, a pulsed source was used to reduce bubble generation. The pulsed source frequency was varied from 1 Hz to 100kHz with a duty cycle variation from 5% to 80%. The lower frequency and lower duty cycle resulted in better consistency of current values throughout the experiments.

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