Development of a totally implantable artificial heart

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Devices
• Implantable Systems

Background:

• Development of the first-generation integrated, totally implantable electrohydraulic total artificial heart (TAH).
• Designed for long-term cardiac replacement, addressing critical needs in heart failure management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the design and preliminary assessment of a novel electrohydraulic TAH system.
• To evaluate the system's components, including the blood pump, energy converter, and control electronics.

Main Methods:

• System design: elliptical blood pump with interatrial shunt, Medtronic-Hall valves, axial-flow hydraulic pump, brushless DC motor, and transcutaneous energy transmission.
• Power source: internal nickel-cadmium and external silver-zinc batteries.
• Performance evaluation: mock circulation testing to determine stroke volume and cardiac output.

Main Results:

• The TAH system demonstrated a dynamic stroke volume of 84 ml and a maximum cardiac output of 9.2 L/min at 110 beats/min in mock circulation.
• Utilized an interatrial shunt for balanced ventricular filling and active filling during the opposing ventricle's systolic phase.
• Incorporated transcutaneous energy transmission and telemetry for power and data exchange.

Conclusions:

• The integrated electrohydraulic TAH system represents a significant advancement in artificial heart technology.
• The system is undergoing assembly and refinement for future long-term animal implant studies.
• This technology holds promise for long-term cardiac replacement solutions.