A novel, valveless ventricular assist device: the FishTail pump. First experimental in vivo studies

This article presents the first in vivo experiments with a new type of valveless ventricular assist device, a wave-generating pump. Our goal was to evaluate the hemodynamic performance of the pump by comparing it with the Biomedicus BP-80 centrifugal pump and by sustaining a 3 h long left ventricular assistance. We connected the two pumps in parallel and switched between them. We increased the aspiration by increments of -10 mm Hg at the inlet and measured developed flow, right carotid and femoral pressure, left atrial pressure, and left carotid flow. Then, we let the FishTail perform a 3 h long left ventricular assistance. The mean developed flow on the outlet was higher with the FishTail, with statistical significance, but this difference was not clinically significant. However, we observed an important amount of hemolysis during the ventricular assistance period. Although promising, this novel pumping device needs further prototypes to be clinically applicable.