LUPA – Lumped Parameter Analysis

Overview

LUPA is a Python-based GUI application for simulating and analyzing lumped-parameter cardiovascular circuits. Built with Python and Tkinter, it provides an intuitive interface for designing, analyzing, and solving lumped-parameter models.

Why LUPA?

Lumped-parameter modeling is a powerful tool for simulating complex dynamic systems, especially in fields like bioengineering and cardiovascular research. However, most existing software tools are either:

• difficult to install or configure,
• lack a user-friendly interface,
• or are tailored for electrical circuits without flexibility for physiological contexts.

LUPA aims to fill this gap by providing an intuitive, open-source application for lumped modeling — combining a visual interface with a robust numerical solver. LUPA is focused on cardiovascular analysis which explains most design choices.

Features

• Interactive Circuit Design: Visual circuit editor with drag-and-drop components
• Component Library: Support for various components:
  • Resistors (R)
  • Capacitors (C)
  • Inductors (L)
  • Diodes (D)
  • Pressure Sources (P)
  • Flow Sources (Q)
  • Ground connections (G)
• Advanced Solver: Robust numerical solver for circuit analysis
• Time-Domain Simulation: Support for transient analysis
• Multiple Integration Methods: BDF (Backwards Differentiation Formula) and BDF2
• Export Capabilities: Save and load circuit configurations
• Real-time Visualization: Plot results with matplotlib integration

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• pip package manager

Install Dependencies

pip install numpy scipy matplotlib pandas networkx

Install via pip (recommended)

pip install -e .

After installation, you can run LUPA from anywhere using:

lupa

Run from Source

git clone https://github.com/maximerenault/LUPA.git
cd LUPA
python main.py

Usage

Command Line Interface

LUPA provides a command line interface with the following options:

# Start the GUI application
lupa

# Show version
lupa --version

# Show help
lupa --help

# Open a specific circuit file on startup
lupa path/to/circuit.json

GUI Usage

1. Start the Application: Run lupa or python main.py to launch the GUI
2. Design Your Circuit: Use the drawing board to place and connect components
3. Set Parameters: Configure component values and simulation settings
4. Solve: Run the simulation to analyze your circuit
5. View Results: Examine the output plots and data

Project Structure

LUPA/
├── elements/         # Circuit element definitions
├── GUI/              # User interface components
├── core/             # Core algorithms
├── utils/            # Utility functions
├── exceptions/       # Custom exception classes
├── tests/            # Test suite
├── icons/            # Application icons
├── main.py           # Main application entry point
└── pyproject.toml    # Project configuration

Development

Running Tests

pytest tests/

Code Formatting

black .

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Maxime Renault

• GitHub: @maximerenault

Acknowledgments

• Built with Python and Tkinter
• Uses NumPy and SciPy for numerical computations
• Matplotlib for visualization