Characterizing the impact of minor cannula design modification

Objective: Bench evaluation of the hydrodynamic behavior of venous cannulas is a valuable technique for the analysis of their performance during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the internal diameter of the extracorporeal connecting tube of venous cannulas on flow rate (Q), pressure drop (Delta P), and cannula resistance (Delta P/Q(2)) values, using a computer assisted test bench.