A revolutionary gentle robotic heart could transform the treatment of terminal heart failure, bringing us closer to fully functional and biocompatible artificial organs.
Study: A Total Robotics Total Robotics Hybrid Heart. Image credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com
Researchers have developed a total artificial hybrid heart powered by gentle robotics, which can open new horizons in heart failure and transplant medicine. The article providing the first proof of concept of this new discovery is published in the journal Nature communications.
Background
Terminal heart failure is associated with a high mortality rate. The condition is treatable by cardiac transplantation; However, the unavailability of donor hearts is the main drawback. This limitation has led to the development of total artificial hearts and left ventricular assistance devices.
These artificial devices have poor biocompatibility because the materials used to design them are not derived from the patient’s body. In addition, these devices work non -physical to circulate blood throughout the body. These factors can induce the formation of blood clots, which can then lead to complications related to blood circulation.
Percutaneous drives, which are necessary to supply and connect the heart devices currently available to an external source, have a risk of high infection and have a significant impact on the quality of life of a patient. These complications largely restrict the clinical use of total artificial hearts currently available.
In this study, researchers have developed a total hybrid artificial heart, in which the pumping power comes from sweet robotics to propel physiologically blood. They called the “Heart Hybrid” device.
Hybrid heart – Design and principle of work
The researchers have designed this new generation of total artificial hearts with the idea that the apparatus should imitate the structure and function of the human heart. The human heart has two bedrooms, the left and right ventricles, which are separated by a septum (a division wall). The synchronous contraction of the ventricles and the septum leads to the ejected blood of the ventricles in circulation.
Like the human heart, the hybrid heart contains two artificial rooms separated by a soft pneumatic muscle (septum). Ventricles and septum are composed of nylon covered with thermoplastic polyurethane. In particular, the design also includes several instant wires arranged in a closed loop, which play a key role in imitation of the coordinated contractions of the heart by distributing forces in the two ventricles.
Supramolecular coatings are applied to the thermoplastic nylon material coated with polyurethane to improve biocompatibility.
Positive or negative atmospheric pressure is used to inflate and deflate the septum. When the septum inflates during the systole, its internal diameter increases, allowing more wire to be wrapped around it. This tightens the ventricles to eject blood, like a natural heart. When the septum deflates during the diastole, the ventricles are filled passively.
The specific length and number of wires around each ventricle can be adjusted to modify the cardiac flow of each room, allowing an adaptation to the requirements of different conditions or physiological diseases. This adjustment could be important to match the device to the individual needs of patients, as in the case of pulmonary hypertension.
A soft robotic actuation mechanism provides the pressure profile required for the hybrid heart septum. The actuation mechanism reflects the control signals in physical actions within a system. This soft robotic actuation mechanism does not depend on electronics to generate a heart rate; Instead, it autonomously and passively transforms the constant flow of a continuous air pump into pressure pulses that create the heart rate for the hybrid heart.
However, the global system also includes electronic components for power and control, especially in fully implantable future versions.
Functional validation
Laboratory tests of the hybrid heart in physiological conditions have revealed that the apparatus imitates physiology pump of the human heart, and its left ventricle can pump 5.7 liters of blood per minute (heart production) at a heart rate of 60 beats per minute. Since the cardiac output of the left ventricle must be higher than the right ventricle, the cardiac flow of the right ventricle of the device has been set to 5 liters per minute by adjusting the length of the wires around the right ventricle.
The hybrid heart was also tested in animals by surgically setting up the device in the pericardial space. The device was responsible for the entire animal blood flow during a 50 -minute test period.
The animal test was a short -term experience, not a long -term implant, providing proof of initial concept for the function of the device In vivo.
However, in the acute animal test, the cardiac flow was less than in vitro (approximately 2.3 liters per minute at 65 bpm), reflecting the nature of proof of concept at an early stage of the device and the expected technical limitations.
The results revealed that the nylon material with the thermoplastic polyurethane coating used in the hybrid heart is non -toxic, has improved biocompatibility and has powerful antithrombogenic properties due to its supramolecular coating.
Animal and in vitro The tests have shown significant reductions in platelet adhesion and thrombosis compared to non -incubator materials, supporting its long -term blood compatibility potential.
In laboratory and animal experiments, an open pneumatic system has been used for the activation of the hybrid heart. However, a fully implantable closed liquidity driving system has been developed for future clinical use. This system consisted of an implanted flow of air pump, an air container and a soft robotic actuation system connected to the septum in a closed circulation loop.
The closed fluid system has been integrated into a transcutaneous energy transfer system (TET) to provide electrical energy to the wireless pump. The external tet coil, placed on the patient’s skin, transmitted the power to the internal subcutaneous set coil, while leaving the skin intact.
This approach can potentially reduce the risk of infection and improve the quality of life of patients by allowing them to temporarily detach themselves from an energy source and to engage in activities such as shower or swim freely.
The tests of this closed fluid system revealed that during the supply of the continuous flow pump, the hybrid heart was automatically starting to beat at a heart rate of 35 BPM and produced a relatively low heart rate compared to that produced by the traditional driving system.
This limitation was attributed to the available power of the TET system in initial experiences, which was not a fundamental barrier to technology. Research noted that increased entry energy should improve cardiac output and that researchers are currently working on this subject.
In addition, the hybrid heart has shown adaptive physiological properties. Preload and sensitivity after load means that the hybrid heart can adjust its output in response to the modification of blood pressure and volumes, as a natural heart. This is carried out passively, imitating the Franche stop mechanism, by which the heart increases production in response to an increase in filling without the need for complex or electronic sensors.
The design also allows the individual configuration of the device, such as modifying the length and position of the wire, tailor -made to meet the individual needs of patients.
Although proof of concept is promising, work is still in its infancy. The device has been built on prototyping materials rather than components of medical quality, and other long -term animal studies will be necessary to fully validate the safety, sustainability and performance of technology.
Before any clinical application, all key components, including the fully implantable version and tissue engineering coatings, will require additional in -depth tests, including long -term animal studies.
Importance
The study provides the first proof that soft robotic techniques can successfully develop a total biocompatible artificial heart capable of providing adequate cardiac speed in physiological conditions.
The hybrid heart developed in the study can overcome the gaps in total artificial hearts currently available, potentially offering both anti-thrombogenic surfaces and support for tissue integration.
In the future, coating technology could be developed, for example, by incorporating molecules that actively encourage body cells to colonize the device and form a functional inner lining. This double approach to reducing blood coagulation and support for the integration of body tissue could reduce the need for life anticoagulation therapy.
Although the hybrid heart is not yet ready for clinical use and will require additional tests and optimization, it shows how gentle robotics and biomimetic engineering can provide safer, more functional and more adaptable artificial cores for terminal heart failure.