Development of the assisted artificial heart with linear motor actuator

The main purpose of this study is to develop the implantable pulsatile ventricular assist device (VAD) which promotes the recovery of failing hearts. We have developed a new VAD (Linear-VAD) which is driven by direct electromagnetic operation with linear oscillatory actuator (LOA). The long-term durability and nonthrombogenicity of the Linear-VAD was evaluated in an animal experiment (a chronic goat left heart bypass model). In the experiment, the newly proposed adaptive control method for the natural heart was evaluated. The goat implanted with the Linear-VAD survived for 42 days. The study confirmed the feasibility of the adaptive control method with the new Linear-VAD, demonstrating the favorable results.