To investigate the effects of different control strategies of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) on the cardiorenal hemodynamics, this study establishes a mock circulation loop (MCL) incorporating the systemic and renal circulations. The platform reproduced the hemodynamic characteristics of heart failure in vitro with the LVAD support. Under the premise of the same mean support levels, differences in pressure, flow, and pulsatility between the aorta and renal artery were compared among four control strategies: constant-speed control, physiological control, square-wave pulsatile speed modulation and sine-wave pulsatile speed modulation. The results showed that both constant-speed control and physiological control could provide stable support, but the aortic pulse pressure was only 3 mm Hg, indicating a marked reduction in pulsatility. Square-wave pulsatile speed modulation and sine-wave pulsatile speed modulation increased pulse pressure to 10–33 mm Hg and improved surplus hemodynamic energy (SHE). Further analysis showed that under pulsatile modulation, the increase of SHE in the renal artery was greater than that in the aorta, reaching maximum gain ratios of 51.9 and 24.8, respectively, indicating that aortic pulsatility index may not fully reflect the end-organ perfusion and hemodynamic energy benefits. These findings may provide experimental evidence for the optimization of LVAD control strategies and reference for the end-organ hemodynamic assessment.
