Affiliations: [a] Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Gunma
University, Tenjincho Kiryu, Japan | Université Laval, Canada | Tohoku University, Japan
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Iwanori Murakami, Department of Mechanical
System Engineering, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjincho Kiryu 376-8515, Japan.
Tel.: +81 277 30 1564; E-mail: murakami@gunma-u.ac.jp
Abstract: To date, the majority of artificial hearts have been nonpulsatile
types. Natural hearts, however, are pulsatile, and the long-term
biocompatibility of the nonpulsatile types has not been confirmed. We set out
to develop a magnetic pump with a pulsatile flow. Because it is pulsatile, we
were able to make this pump as small and compact as a natural heart. It
consists of a motor, a bellows, and a permanent magnet. The pulsatile flow
artificial heart relies on magnetic force. To determine the basic
characteristics of the pump, we measured the flow, pressure and magnetic force.
We describe the structure of the pump, it's manufacturing method, and it's
principle of operation. The use of the bellows allows us to realize a structure
where the fluid chambers and drive are separate. When the pump pulsated at 0.6
[Hz], the rate of flow was 0.618 [l/min]. The differential pressure between
inflow and outflow was 3.5 [kPa]. The magnetic attractive force was 243.4 [N]
and the magnetic repulsive force was 67.3 [N]. We confirmed that the pump was
able to pump water by pulsating steadily.
Keywords: Pump, artificial heart, magnetic force, magnetic flux concentration
