New Pulseless Total Artificial Heart

Two University of Houston mechanical engineering professors (Matt Franchek and Ralph Metcalfe) have received a $2.8 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new artificial heart technology. In order to create a pulseless total artificial heart (TAH), they 'are focusing on developing a control system that emulates how the natural heart responds to physiological conditions within the body.' According to the scientists, this TAH device will be smaller, lighter and more reliable than existing pulsating artificial hearts.

“The proposed TAH replaces the pulsatile feature with two pulseless continuous flow pumps, each about the size of a C battery. The pumps also are unique in that their cardiac output automatically adjusts to physiological needs. To ensure proper integration of the TAH on a patient-to-patient basis, the UH team will be adding onboard intelligence to the TAH using automatic controls. One pump would be dedicated to the pulmonary loop, carrying oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart to the lungs and returning oxygenated blood back to the heart. The other pump would drive the systemic loop, carrying oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body and returning deoxygenated blood back to the heart."

This artificial heart will not only be less costly, but the goal is to create a robust continuous-flow ventricular assist device that is smaller and more reliable than the current pulsating pumps that mimic the natural heart. The implanted intelligence controllers will also provide current conditions of the blood, including viscosity, which is critical to maintaining patient health. Don’t get your hopes up though, for this won’t be hitting the medical markets for at least 4 more years.

http://www.primidi.com/2008/10/14.html

Hieu Tran

Section 502