DESIGN HISTORY OF THE NOVACOR LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST SYSTEM

摘要

A fully implantable, electrically powered left ventricular assist system, intended to provide chronic circulatory support to patients with terminal heart disease, has been under development since 1970. Designed for tether-free operation, it affords rehabilitation with a high quality of life. The system uses a unique, dual pusher-plate blood pump actuated by a balanced-solenoid energy converter, with transcutaneous energy transmission from an external battery pack to an implanted microprocessor-based controller. Preclinical in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the totally implanted system has demonstrated excellent functional performance and high reliability. An interim system configuration with an external controller is being used in a multi-center clinical study as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. Over 200 cases have been done to date, with successful implants to 370 days.