Design and Experiment of an Open-Source Syringe Pump for Blood Flow Applications

This paper presents the design and experimental development of an open-source syringe pump for use in medical and laboratory applications specifically in cardiovascular flow phantoms. The high cost and limited accessibility of commercial syringe pumps have led to the emergence of open-source alternatives, offering affordable and adaptable options for medical practitioners and researchers. The objective of this study is to create a low-cost, reliable, and efficient syringe pump that can be easily replicated, modified, and shared within the experimental fields of blood flow. The study employs 3D printing technology and an Arduino system to develop the syringe pump. Experimental tests are conducted using a benchmark model of a fusiform aneurysm to evaluate the pump's functionality. The experimental results obtained from the syringe pump are validated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with an error of approximately 4.9%. Furthermore, the performance of the syringe pump is assessed under various flow rate conditions, demonstrating accurate estimation of volume flow rates with a maximum error of approximately 1.9%.