doi.org/10.32640/tasj.2022.1.7 7 TAS Journal, vol. 6, n. 1, p. 07-26 ISSN 2595-1521 MARCH 2022 brunojsantos@usp.br Design of a Hydrodynamic Performance Bench for Ventricular Assist Devices Santos BJ*, Leão TF*§, Drigo E§, Fonseca J§, Andrade AJP§, Nishida BT§ and Bock EGP† * Department of Electric, Federal Institute of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. § Department of Bioengineering, Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology, Sao Paulo, Brazil. †Department of Mechanic, Federal Institute of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Abstract. This work presents the design of a hydrodynamic performance bench (HPB) of Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) for evaluations of developed prototypes. VADs are used for the treatment of patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), either as a bridge to recovery, for transplantation or as destination therapy. HPB is required for the performance evaluation of VADs that are under development in Brazil. The performance evaluation of a VAD considers the rotation speed [rpm], flow rate [L/min], pressure [mmHg] and power [W]. The project consists in choosing an actuator and transducers from HPB, and developing the mechanical components, supervisory control and modules. The HPB mechanical components were designed in SolidWorks® following rapid prototyping and built by additive manufacturing. The HPB supervisory program was developed in graphic language through the Labview® program and implemented in a development and application platform with data acquisition system. The manipulated variable of the supervisory system is the motor speed [rpm] acting via an Escon 50/4 EC-S power controller on the BLDC EC45 N339281 motor. The controlled variable is the “VAD flow” [L/min] provided by an HT-110 flow transducer. A particle image velocimetry (PIV) module was developed for flow analysis. All process data are stored in spreadsheets for later consultation. HPB could assist in a satisfactory way in the analysis of the developed VADs prototypes, demonstrating the technical success of the project. Keywords. Test and Evaluation bench, Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs), Control and automation and Bioengineering. Introduction. In Brazil, cardiovascular diseases kill about 350,000 Brazilians every year, being the largest cause of death in the country [1]. The incidence of cardiovascular diseases in humans has been increasing over the years, the most serious disease being chronic heart failure (CHF) [2- 4]. Heart transplantation is considered the standard treatment in patients with advanced and refractory CHF, however, it is a procedure limited by the number of available donors and possible contraindications that make it unfeasible [5]. Given the difficulty in obtaining organs for heart transplants and the current need of patients, the development of devices for pumping blood