[Preliminary study of a new concept for left ventricular assistance dynamic aortic valve]

Dynamic aortic valve, a novel design for left ventricular assistance is proposed. An impeller similar to the airscrew is placed in the position of aortic valve. The impeller is held by a pair of bearings in the center of a cylindrical supporting cage which is located in the lumen of the aorta ascendens. The supporting cage is attached to the valve annulus by a sewing ring of textile cuff around the outside of the cage. A rotor is fitted into the cage and connected to the impeller with a common shaft. The cage supports the aortic wall, thus prevents the rotor from founching the wall and allows the rotor to rotate freely. A stator, functioning as that of the electric motor, is located outside the aortic wall. When actuated, the magnetic field generated by the stator would drive the rotor to turning, and the axial flow of blood from ventricular to the aorta would be produced, resulting in the reduction of the ventricular load. We studied this concept in a simulating model. The result suggests that this design be reasonable. Further exploration of this concept is justified.