Development of an Implantable and Ambulatory"Plug and Play" Transventricle LVAD

Current implantable LVADs are bulky and expensive. They all require high-risk surgery for insertion including a need for a heart/lung machine and complex connection to the heart or major blood vessels. This paper presents a newly designed "plug and play" transventricle LVAD that can be plugged into the circulation easily and work instantly with no complicated surgical procedure, no prime, no de-airing and no anastomosis. The device was tested on six sheep for 4 hours under general anesthesia to evaluate its performance and blood trauma. Results show that the simple transventricle pump generated pulsatile flow and achieved LV unloading in short term healthy sheep with acceptable blood trauma