Development of a New Pulsatile Ventricular Assist Device

We developed a small, lightweight, low-cost implantable ventricular assist device (VAD) for use in smaller Japanese subjects. The major advantage of this pump is the simplicity of its fabrication. Most parts of the pump were shaped from a transparent acrylic block by a turning process, and the diaphragm was made from a silicon sheet. Since this method of construction did not require any complex processes, we could manufacture many pumps of various shapes. We determined the most efficient shape for the Ebacor VAD using the flow visualization technique. The pump showed an output above 6 liters/min under a driving pressure of 300/-100 mmHg. The pump performance of current VADs is superior to that of the Ebacor VAD, because these pumps are larger. Since the Ebacor VAD is small in size, it can be driven by the driving system of a normal IABP control unit, which many hospitals already have in place. During a 30day continuous driving performance test of this pump, no problems like performance decrements or water and air leakage were observed.