Flow-transformed pulsatile total artificial heart using axial flow blood pump

Background: The flow-transformed pulsatile total artificial heart (TAH) has been designed as a pulsatile TAH that consists of a single rotary blood pump and blood flow switching valves. It can perfuse the pulmonary and systemic circulations alternately with pulsatile flow. Methods: A small axial flow pump is employed as a rotary blood pump. Four jellyfish valves with a polyurethane soft valve leaflet are used as a passively operated one-way valve. Two jellyfish valves are located at one port of the axial flow pump, and the other two are located at the other port of the pump. The valves are connected to the aorta, left atrium, pulmonary artery, and right atrium respectively. The axial flow pump turns reversibly at the phase of pulmonary circulation. Pivots at both ends of the impeller suspend the impeller. The rotating force of the motor is driven to the impeller by a magnet coupling. Results: The priming volume of the axial flow pump is 18 ml, which is small enough to reduce the mixture of arterial and venous blood. The total volume of each component such as the axial flow pump, jellyfish valves and conduits is 150 ml. Discussion: Because of the small volume of this TAH, in future we plan to implant it in the right ventricle and apply less invasive surgery using a transxyphoid approach.