Design of an Innovative Wireless Left Ventricular Assist Device Driven by either Extracorporeal Magnets or an Intracorporeal Battery Pack

This study aimed to design a new wireless left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that solved the driveline problem of current LVADs and the heat problem of the transcutaneous energy transfer system (TETS). Our new wireless LVAD consisted of two blood pumps capable of driving using extracorporeal magnets and an intracorporeal battery pack. When one pump was driven, the other pump was stopped. The battery pack was wirelessly and slowly charged using TETS with low-power transmission, whereas the magnetic pump was driven wirelessly by extracorporeal magnets. We demonstrated the feasibility of our system in a bench-top durability test for 7 days. The distance between the extracorporeal magnets and the magnetic pump was 27.5 mm. Our LVAD system had steadily provided sufficient pressure and flow volume (approximately 108 mm Hg and 5.0 L/min, respectively) to the test loop for 7 days. Although loss of synchronism occurred once during the test, it recovered within a few minutes. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed wireless LVAD system. Further technical improvements are required in our system, such as downsizing the electric devices inside the body, to conduct an in vivo test for the next step.