title: Development of mechanical circulatory support devices at the University of Tokyo.
abstract: The development of mechanical circulatory support devices at the University of Tokyo has focused on developing a small total artificial heart (TAH) since achieving 532 days of survival of an animal with a paracorporial pneumatically driven TAH. The undulation pump was invented to meet this purpose. The undulation pump total artificial heart (UPTAH) is an implantable TAH that uses an undulation pump. To date, the UPTAH has been implanted in 71 goats weighting from 39 to 72 kg. The control methods are very important in animal experiments, and sucking control was developed to prevent atrial sucking. Rapid left-right balance control was performed by monitoring left atrial pressure to prevent acute lung edema caused by the rapid increase in both arterial pressure and venous return associated with the animal becoming agitated. Additionally, 1/R control was applied to stabilize the right atrial pressure. By applying these control methods, seven goats survived more than 1 month. The maximum survival period was 63 days. We are expecting to carry out longer term animal experiments with a recent model of TAH. In addition to the TAH, an undulation pump ventricular assist device (UPVAD), which is an implantable ventricular assist device (VAD), has been in development since 2002, based on the technology of the UPTAH. The UPVAD was implanted in six goats; three goats survived for more than 1 month. While further research and development is required to complete the the UPVAD system, the UPVAD has good potential to be realized as an implantable pulsatile-flow VAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. abe@bme.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Isoyama
authors.forename: Itsuro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Hidemoto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitsumune
authors.forename: Ayaka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugino
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsui
authors.forename: Koki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takiura
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Akimasa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouno
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chinzei
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takamoto
authors.forename: Kou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imachi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D014041:Tokyo; D014495:Universities