Engineers Create HemaDyne Perfusion System to Replicate Real Human Blood Flow on Lab-on-a-Chip Devices, Aiding Personalized Medicine and Mars Missions

More than a quarter-century of lab-on-a-chip technology has enabled scientists to study human organs and blood vessels without animal experiments. Inside these small devices, living human cells are placed and provided with a microenvironment that reproduces conditions inside the body. Such microphysiological systems can imitate individual tissues, organs, and connections between multiple systems, helping researchers investigate cardiovascular diseases, test drug effects, and observe cellular processes.

For a long time, one technical problem hindered further development. Laboratory pumps could not accurately replicate the blood movement created by the human heart. Blood flow does not move at constant speed; each heartbeat generates several short impulses and waves of different durations, with pressure and velocity changing over tens of milliseconds. To reproduce the pulse precisely, a pump must adjust the flow in approximately 50 milliseconds. Most existing setups operate more slowly and smooth out sharp fluctuations.

The shape of the pulse wave directly affects blood vessels. Their inner surface is lined with endothelium, a thin layer of cells that constantly responds to pressure, speed, and direction of blood flow. Diseases, aging, and weightlessness alter blood movement patterns. Endothelial cells then receive unusual mechanical loads, disrupting normal function and triggering processes linked to vascular disease development.

Engineers have built an automated perfusion system named HemaDyne that can reproduce recorded blood flow in any vessel and under different physiological states. Perfusion refers to the controlled delivery of fluid through tissues, vascular models, or laboratory chips. HemaDyne takes data from a patient’s examination, converts the pulse wave recording into a sequence of commands, and replicates the exact flow regime inside a microphysiological system.

The laboratory therefore receives not an averaged flow but a model of a specific individual’s circulation. Researchers can observe how endothelial cells react to particular speeds, pressures, and impulse sequences. Such experiments help detect early vascular disorders before noticeable symptoms appear.

Cells from the patient can be placed inside the chip to test multiple drugs under that person’s own blood-flow conditions. Physicians and pharmacologists will be able to compare tissue responses to different medications and identify which compound best suppresses pathological processes. The method may allow treatment selection before vascular changes progress to chronic disease.

Inspiration from Musical Instruments

The core idea came from the accordion. Engineers noticed how the bellows in the central part of the instrument rapidly expand and contract, creating air-pressure differences. A similar design is used in the harmonium, a keyboard wind instrument common in Indian music. The folded walls allow quick pressure changes without great effort.

Pneumatic pumps have long been used in laboratories, yet conventional models do not employ a bellows structure. Researchers hypothesized that a folded chamber could compress and expand rapidly, generating controlled pressure differences to drive fluid flow.

For initial tests, an expensive accordion was unnecessary. Suitable shapes were found in inexpensive plastic foldable glue bottles costing less than one dollar. Their walls fold and unfold according to the same mechanical principle as musical instrument bellows. A small container was converted into a chamber capable of producing fast and precisely controlled pressure oscillations.

Control of the chamber was built using technologies from 3D printers. These devices receive instructions in G-code, which defines movement direction, speed, distance, and timing of each operation. A recorded patient pulse wave is translated into a digital sequence and then into G-code commands. The program manages compression of the folded chamber, forcing the pump to repeat the required pressure changes. Settings can be adjusted for different vessels, heart rates, pulse characteristics, and circulatory disorders.

The combination of the foldable chamber, 3D-printer mechanics, and software control gave the system the speed previously missing from perfusion setups. HemaDyne reproduces individual impulses and complex oscillation sequences, with flow changing over very short intervals.

The pump can connect to various organ models whose function depends on blood supply, pressure, or rhythmic nutrient delivery. The compact system supports long-duration experiments and can operate continuously for several months.

Extended observations are essential when studying chronic diseases, aging, and cancer. Many cellular abnormalities develop gradually, so short experiments capture only the initial phase. A stable flow with a defined pulse wave allows researchers to see how tissues adapt to adverse conditions, when first deviations appear, and how drugs alter disease progression.

Applications in Space Medicine and Drug Testing

HemaDyne is also planned for use in space medicine. Microphysiological systems can be sent into orbit, maintained during flight, and returned to Earth for analysis. This approach will permit study of microgravity effects on vessels and other tissues without additional medical procedures for astronauts.

On Earth, gravity influences blood distribution throughout the body. In weightlessness, fluid shifts differently, causing the cardiovascular system to adapt to new loads. After return, reverse adaptation begins. The laboratory model helps isolate the influence of microgravity, flight duration, and individual physiological features.

The development has received support from NASA. The agency views microphysiological systems as tools for preparing crewed missions to Mars. Long-duration flights will require advance understanding of how months or years in space affect the heart, vessels, cellular aging, and disease risk. Full clinical studies during an interplanetary mission are impossible, so compact chips containing human cells can replace some human and animal experiments.

The programmable pump may also improve accuracy of preclinical drug trials. Many compounds succeed in standard cell cultures or animals yet later fail to produce expected results in humans. A realistic model of human blood flow will allow earlier detection of weak drug action or undesirable tissue responses.

Over the next five years, developers aim to increase system reliability and establish unified operating standards. Afterward, HemaDyne could assist in preparing clinical trials. Drugs showing low efficacy or harmful effects on human cells will be filtered out before costly patient studies begin.

HemaDyne combines the mechanics of a foldable bottle, 3D-printer control systems, and real patient data. The pump reproduces pulse waves in the laboratory and enables study of vascular diseases, drug effects, and microgravity influences under conditions close to those inside the human body. The developers are currently filing a patent for the device.