Novel Centrifugal LVAD with Wireless Power Transfer and Antithrombotic SLIC Coating
Abstract
OVERALL PROGRAM Heart failure (HF) occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to the body. There are nearly five million Americans suffering from HF, with approximately 400,000 related deaths occurring each year. HF causes a significant public health care burden and greatly reduces the mobility, quality of life, and ability to work for the patient. Moreover, studies have found that Veterans have a much higher chance of being affected by HF, especially those suffering from traumatic experiences in combat. There is no medical treatment when HF reaches end stage, and the only option for many patients is invasive heart transplant surgery. But heart transplant is severely limited by the availability of donor hearts. To address this problem, scientists and engineers have invented a tiny implantable blood pump called Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to help the failing heart to pump blood to the body. However, due to the fast-spinning rotor damaging the blood cells, the patients are very likely to suffer from blood clotting, bleeding, infection, and stroke. Moreover, the LVAD can only be powered by an invasive driveline that runs through the body, causing serious infection problems that sometimes can only be treated with surgeries. Besides, living with a driveline greatly limit the mobility and the quality of life of the patient. Through this work, the problems with the current LVAD will be addressed by a synergistic collaboration between four complementary research groups. We will first (Project 1, led by Dr. Lakshmi Dasi at Georgia Institute of Technology) reduce the blood damage by optimizing the LVAD geometry using advanced machine learning and with flexible blades and casing. The blood clotting problem near the inlet will be eliminated by an innovative stented design borrowed from prosthetic heart valve technology. Second (Project 2, led by Dr. Arun Kota at North Carolina State University), novel slippery coatings will be developed and applied to the LVAD surfaces to flight blood clot formation inside the device. Without clot formation, we can eliminate the possibility of associated pump failure. Third (Project 3, led by Dr. Cavallaro at Rice University), we will develop a wireless energy transfer system to power the implanted LVAD. By eliminating the driveline and associated infection risk, we will overcome one of the major limitations of LVAD. Lastly (Project 4, led by Dr. O.H. Frazier at Texas Heart Institute), we will convert the LVAD to a maglev drive system to further reduce the blood damage. The LVAD system will be thoroughly evaluated after implanting in large animals. This innovative LVAD has the potential to profoundly change the way we treat HF. As the blood damage is greatly reduced and the clotting problem is eliminated, the pump can support patients for a very long time without subsequent surgeries to treat these side effects. With the elimination of the driveline, the LVAD is much less invasive and can greatly improve the quality of life. When the outcome of LVAD therapy is comparable to a heart transplant, millions of lives will be saved. This overall effort addresses the Topic Area and Strategic Goal outlined in Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP): Cardiomyopathy: Develop less-invasive treatment technologies for associated cardiovascular conditions. Toward the end of this grant period, the experimental LVAD will be evaluated in animal studies. The next step will move toward applying for regulatory approval and bringing it to the clinic. The LVAD and the technology developed will be prioritized to use in military, Veteran, and public health. Intellectual properties and technological innovations developed from this grant, such as the wireless power transfer for medical devices and the anti-thrombotic coatings, can be translated to other military applications as well. The proposed project will have a significant impact on how we treat heart failure pat
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310663
Entities
People
- Lakshmi Dasi
Organizations
- Georgia Tech Research Corporation
- United States Army