CardioPump: A Multipurpose Digital Pulsatile Pump for Testing of Cardiac Implants and Disease Simulation

The cardiovascular system (CVS) is an intricate network whose complexity often challenges medical professionals and researchers in fully understanding cardiac function and the pathophysiology of heart diseases. In vitro experimentation remains one of the most effective approaches for studying cardiovascular dynamics, driving a growing interest in the field of cardiovascular engineering. However, the progress of such research critically depends on access to high-quality, affordable, and reproducible laboratory tools. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be the leading cause of mortality worldwide. While heart transplantation remains the definitive therapy for end-stage heart failure, its applicability is severely constrained by the scarcity of donors. Consequently, implantable prosthetic devices such as mechanical heart valves, stents, and ventricular assist devices (VADs) have emerged as viable alternatives. Yet, the prohibitive costs of these devices limit their widespread use, particularly in resource-limited settings. Efforts to develop low-cost, indigenously designed cardiovascular implants necessitate rigorous preclinical testing, traditionally reliant on animal models that raise ethical, legal, and welfare concerns. Existing electro-mechanical heart simulators and mock circulatory loops provide essential platforms for such testing but are often expensive and inaccessible to many academic and industrial research laboratories. To address this gap, the present work focuses on the design and development of an affordable, compact, and user-friendly cardiovascular research tool, termed CardioPump, evolved from the previously developed Cardiovascular Replicator (CVR).