Development of a compact portable driver for a pneumatic ventricular assist device.
The Toyobo-National Cardiovascular Center pneumatic ventricular assist device (Toyobo-NCVC VAD) is widely used in Japan; however, the current pneumatic drivers have some drawbacks, including their large size, heavy weight, and high power consumption. These issues cause difficulty with mobility and contribute to an unsatisfactory quality of life for patients. Because it is urgently necessary to improve patients' safety and quality of life, we have developed a compact, low-noise, portable VAD driver by utilizing an electrohydraulic actuator consisting of a brushless DC motor and a regenerative pump. This unit can be actuated for as long as 2 h with two rechargeable lightweight batteries as well as with external AC power. It is compact in size (33 x 25 x 43 cm) and light in weight (13 kg), and the unit is carried on a mobile wheeled cart. In vitro testing with a Toyobo-NCVC VAD demonstrated a sufficient pumping capacity of up to 8 l/min. We conclude that this newly-developed compact portable driver can provide a better quality of life and improved safety for patients using protracted pneumatic VAD support.
Nishinaka
Tomohiro
T
Department of Artificial Organs, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, 5-7-1 Fujishirodai, Suita 565-8565, Japan. nishinak@ri.ncvc.go.jp
Taenaka
Yoshiyuki
Y
Tatsumi
Eisuke
E
Ohnishi
Hiroyuki
H
Homma
Akihiko
A
Shioya
Kyoko
K
Mizuno
Toshihide
T
Tsukiya
Tomonori
T
Mushika
Sadahiko
S
Hashiguchi
Yasuhiro
Y
Suzuki
Akira
A
Kitamura
Soichiro
S
D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004582:Electronics, Medical; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008904:Miniaturization; D011474:Prosthesis Design