PHYSIOLOGICAL CONTROLLER FOR ROTARY BLOOD PUMPS

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DESCRIPTION (Verbatim From Applicant's Abstract): As the prospects of a mechanical replacement for a failing human heart are fast becoming a reality, and patients are indeed returning home to regain a "normal" lifestyle, the limitations of this technology upon quality of life are becoming more apparent. To address many of these limitations, investigators are developing next-generation ventricular assist devices. Based on turbopump technology, these new devices offer smaller size, greater efficiency (hence smaller batteries), high reliability, and are more cost effective as compared to their pulsatile predecessessors. For all the virtues of these new turbopumps, they bring with additional challenges. Arguably the most urgent is the need for added intelligence." These, relatively stupid, devices are highly dependent on feedback-control to provide physiological response. Unfortunately, developers have yet to wage a systematic assault on this problem. Preoccupied with apparently more urgent issues, such as biocompatibility etc., there has been relatively little attention or resources directed at developing a physiological controller. For the past eight years, the P.I. has had an interest in this problem, and has conducted basic and applied research towards developing control algorithms. He now proposes to devise a general-purpose controller product, which can be incorporated into a variety of rotary pump systems for clinical use. The goal of the Phase-I effort proposed herein are to design a robust control algorithm which may then be implemented, in Phase-Il, into an applications specific integrated circuit. The P.I. envisions that this chip would be made available to device developers much like control circuits produced by Intel, Motorola, Texas Instruments, etc., are adopted by a wide variety of users for their specific products. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Direct application to virtually all rotary-type blood pumps for critical care and chronic use. The P.I. envisions that the Antakamatics control chip would be made available to device developers much like integrated circuits producted by Intel, Motorola, Texas Instruments, etc. are adopted by a wide variety of users for their specific products. The market for this product is estimated to exceed 200,000 units per annum, and there currently exists no competing product.