title: An electrohydraulic total artificial heart with a separately placed actuator.
abstract: An electrohydraulic total artificial heart (EHTAH) system, consisting of a separately placed actuator and blood pumps with good anatomic fit, was designed. In the actuator is a brushless DC motor sandwiched between two metal bellows or two pusher-plate pumps connected with the blood pumps by polyvinylchloride tubes. A roller-screw system coupled with the bellows is used for alternative pumping, and silicone oil transmits the action. The pumps are elliptical, and the right pump has a flatter and longer shape than the left to fit the extremely short distance between the right atrium and the sternum. To evaluate in vivo performance, the pumps were implanted as a pneumatic system in a calf weighing 53 kg and three goats weighing 54-55 kg. The pump fit well in the animals, and the calf survived for 111 days, and one goat was alive for 8 days. The EHTAH system could provide an output of 6 L/min with pusher-plate pumps as oil chambers on in vitro evaluation. This system could become one of the most suitable approaches for a totally implantable system.
authors: Department of Artificial Organs, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Taenaka
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Sekii
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Tatsumi
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Nakatani
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Sasaki
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Yagura
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Akagi
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Masuzawa
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Goto
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Matsuo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D002417:Cattle; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006041:Goats; D006354:Heart, Artificial; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*