Incorporation of electronics within a compact, fully implanted left ventricular assist device

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Cardiovascular Technology

Background:

• Expanded indications for left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) necessitate fully implanted systems for very long-term applications (10+ years).
• Sealed systems are crucial for reduced obtrusiveness and enhanced reliability compared to percutaneous configurations.
• Intracorporeal power loss dissipation in sealed systems requires careful thermal management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To incorporate motor drive and levitation control electronics within the HeartMate III blood pump.
• To achieve this integration without substantially increasing the pump's overall dimensions.
• To address the thermal management challenges associated with integrated electronics.

Main Methods:

• Designed and fabricated electronics using a compact, dense rigid-flex satellite printed circuit board (PCB) arrangement.
• Redesigned the pump's lower housing to accommodate the integrated PCBs, increasing height by only 5 mm.
• Reduced the interconnect cable from 22 wires to 10 (two fully redundant sets of 5).

Main Results:

• An ongoing in vitro test of the assembled pump has shown no issues over 5 months.
• A 20-day in vivo test demonstrated minimal temperature increases (1°C), comparable to pumps without integrated electronics.
• The integration was achieved with a minimal increase in pump height (5 mm).

Conclusions:

• Successful integration of motor drive and control electronics into the HeartMate III blood pump is feasible.
• The redesigned system maintains reliability and manages thermal challenges effectively for long-term LVAD applications.
• This advancement supports the development of fully implanted, less-obtrusive ventricular assist devices for expanded clinical use.