Jahanmir, S., Hunsberger, A.Z., Heshmat, H., Tomaszewski, M.J., Walton, J.F., Weiss, W.J., Lukic, B., Paw, W.E., Zapanta, C.M. and Khalapyan, T.Z. “Performance Characterization of a Rotary Centrifugal LVAD with Magnetic Suspension,” (May 2008) Artificial Organs, Blackwell Publishing Limited, Volume 32 (5), pp. 366-375.
The MiTiHeart® LVAD, a third generation blood pump, is being developed for destination therapy for adult heart failure patients of small to medium frame that are not being served by present pulsatile devices. The pump design is based on a novel, patented, hybrid passive/active magnetic bearing system with back-up hydrodynamic thrust bearing and exhibits low power loss, low vibration, low hemolysis. Performance of the titanium alloy prototype was evaluated in a series of in vitro tests with blood analog to map out the performance envelop of the pump. The LVAD prototype was implanted in a calf animal model and the in vivo pump performance was evaluated. The animals’ native heart imparted a strong pulsatililty to the flow rate. These tests confirmed the efficacy of the MiTiHeart® LVAD design and confirmed that the pulsatility does not adversely affect the pump performance.