Visualizing Flow Dynamics in a Human Aorta During Peripheral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Treatment Through Particle Image Velocimetry Study

Kanagarajan, D., Semenzin, C., Heinsar, S., Dau, V. T., Pauls, J. P., Tansley, G. D., Fraser, J. F. Artificial Organs DOI: 10.1111/aor.15040

Purpose: In this study, we hypothesize that pulsatile flow in V-A ECMO improves haemodynamic performance in terms of flow distribution and microcirculatory perfusion compared to continuous flow under realistic anatomical conditions. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mock circulatory loop (MCL) that simulates V-A ECMO flow dynamics inside a custom-made silicone aortic model. Using the Xenios ECMO device (i-Cor, Xenios AG, Heilbronn, Germany), we conducted PIV experiments to compare continuous and pulsatile flow ECMO modes.