Both analytical and experimental studies must be continued and correlated to develop a fuller understanding of this class of blood pump. Physiologic Control of Rotodynamic Blood Pumps Conventional, reciprocating blood pumps have some advantage with respect to meeting the variable physiologic demand for flow. Because filling and emptying are separate phases of operation, the pump diaphragm essentially becomes a transducer, responding to venous pressure, if the pump filling resistance is sufficiently low. The rotary pumps, on the other hand, have continuous flow and do not easily separate venous pressure from arterial pressure. Venous pressure changes require high sensitivity.
Arterial pressure changes with less sensitivity.
This field of physiologic control is a key activity for blood pump research. A number of pulsatile blood pumps are in clinical use or completing pre-clinical studies. These are demonstrated to be effective, but one limitation is the need to vent the reverse side of the blood pump diaphragm. As blood enters one side of the pump, something must leave the other, and the opposite is true during ejection. Fully implantable systems, if they are to avoid a permanent skin penetration, require some special means to handle this problem.