A Pulsatile Flow Loop and Experimental measurement of In Vitro Blood Pressure in 3-D Printed Stenosed Arteries

We recently built up a pulsatile flow loop, mimicking the blood flow in the human circulatory system, to measure in vitro hemodynamics in 3-D printed arterial systems anatomically extracted from patient’s CT images.  The loop is equipped with a pulsatile heart pump (variable phase, RPM, and stroke volume), elements of resistance and compliance, as well as measurement devices. The diseased artery is segmented from computed tomography angiography (CTA) data, 3-D printed, and mounted in the loop. This pulsatile flow loop provides a unique platform to measure in-vitro blood pressure in human arteries with stenosis, a condition with reduced arterial lumen size.  Quantification of proximal pressure  and distal pressure  to arterial stenosis is critically important to assess the hemodynamic severity of stenosis via either fractional flow reserve () or trans-stenotic pressure gradient (TSPG) as invasive measurement via catheterization requires patient exposure to risk and high medical costs. Our preliminary measurement of blood pressure proximal and distal to iliac stenosis agree with the invasive measurement during an interventional treatment, which inspires more sophisticated research.