Date of Award

Spring 1992

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor

Jeutter, Dean C.

Abstract

This thesis introduces a system to control intraluminal pressure and flow rate in an isolated, cannulated blood vessel preparation in vitro. The thesis describes the design, construction and testing of the system. It also describes experiments conducted using the system to determine the response of cat pulmonary arteries to changes in luminal flow rate and the results from these experiments. Chapter one provides an introduction to the goals of this thesis and background information on the interaction of pressure and flow in blood vessels. It also contains a review of the methods, in vivo and in vitro, that have been used to study pressure/flow interactions. Chapter two describes the specifications of the design of a system to control pressure and flow independently. This includes a description of the existing experimental apparatus, the requirements the system had to fulfill and the limitations placed on the design. Also, several rejected ideas are presented, along with reasons for rejection. Chapter three describes the final design for the pressure/flow control system. It describes in detail the circuit designed to control pressure and the construction of the device. Chapter four describes the methods used in testing the system and the results of the tests. This includes a description of the system and tissue preparation and set-up and operation of the pressure/flow control system. It describes calibrations performed on the system to test accuracy of pressure and flow control and response characteristics under several conditions. Chapter five describes in detail the experimental protocol and the results obtained from the experiments. Chapter six discusses the results obtained from the experiments done using the pressure/flow control system as well as the overall performance of the system.

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