Concepts and designs of life support systems

Although total artificial hearts (TAHs) available on today´s market can sustain a patient´s life, their quality of life does not reach the potential of a donor heart transplant. The main reasons are device size and weight, as well as durability and the risk of blood clot formation. Additionally device-related infections pose a threat to a patient´s life. A totally implantable TAH is developed in Aachen, which addresses these problems. One focus is set on improving durability, as failure is an immediate threat to a patient´s life. The desired lifespan of the TAH should exceed 5 years. This can be achieved by reducing the number of moving, wear-prone components. In contrast to rotary motors with conversion gears, linear motors only need one moving part. Thus, a new TAH with a linear drive is developed, based on a detailed list of requirements. The potential of a linear motor as a TAH´s drive is shown by a first prototype. Based on this prototype, two new drive concepts are developed and compared. The superior concept has been manufactured and force measurements have been performed in a test stand.