UC Irvine

Current treatment options for advanced heart failure patients are either heart transplantation or mechanical heart assist device systems with their own advantages and disadvantages. This thesis examined the use of helically structured design for novel heart assist device which is inspired by the heart`s own intrinsic helical muscle fiber structure. The study device utilizes a novel external system that assists the heart`s natural helical motion outside the pericardium without direct blood contact. The proof of concept of the helically inspired assist device is also examined on the bench and ex vivo studies. The test VAD was verified twice on bench testing using an excised pig heart having moderate rigor mortis. A cradle was constructed for us to put the dissected pig heart on top of it and placed our pump around the heart. The pump is rotated by an attached motor to lower ring, which was controlled with an Arduino system. A flow tube was attached to the output of the pig heart aorta to observe volume changes through it. In these bench tests, although not a fresh harvest, a dissected pig heart was tested; we were able to observe how the pump helps contract the ventricle. An early prototype, which has no adjustable upper ring, shows slight damage onto the endocardial heart muscle whereas the latest design where the upper ring can be adjustable showed none. The helically fashioned design exhibits promising candidate for future of the heart assist device technology and the people who suffer from advanced heart failure.