Abstract
We have been developing an electrohydraulic total artificial heart (EHTAH) system. The system consists of polyurethane-made diaphragm-type blood pumps, an electrohydraulic energy converter, an internal control unit, a transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) system, a transcutaneous optical telemetry (TOT) system, and an internal battery. The energy converter, placed outside the pericardial space, reciprocates and delivers hydraulic silicone oil to the alternate blood pumps through flexible oil conduits. The external diameter, the thickness and the weight of the energy converter were 76 mm, 47 mm and 720 g, respectively. The performance of the pumping unit was examined by in vitro experiment. The maximum efficiency of the unit was 26.1%. The pumping unit with an external controller has been implanted in 22 calves of as small as 54 kg. Eleven of 23 calves survived for more than a week. One of these lived for 6 weeks (42 days) and the other lived for over 8 weeks (60 days). Two of these lived for over 12 weeks (86 and 87 days) in good general condition. In the case of longest surviving animal, the cardiac output ranged between 6–8 L/min, the power consumption was 14 +/−3 W, and the average values of the left and right atrial pressures throughout the experimental period were 2 +/− 5 and 1 +/− 7 mm Hg, respectively. These results indicate that our EHTAH system has the potential to be a totally implantable system.
Published Version
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