How can the total artificial heart (TAH) patient be mobile and enjoy his life with an air driven system?
Two air driven VAD and TAH driving and control units were developed for clinical use, one to be installed at the bedside and the other to be installed in an electric wheelchair. The reliability and safety of the bedside unit were shown by long-term TAH experiments using animal models and by clinical application in conjunction with VAD. A TAH goat was safety taken on a 12 hr trip to a destination 550 km away while attached to a bedside unit. The driving and control functions of the wheelchair unit were found to be practically identical to those of the bedside unit.
D000818:Animals; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D006041:Goats; D006354:Heart, Artificial; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods; D014910:Wheelchairs