FUEL CELL POWER PACKS FOR LEFT VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICE

描述（未编辑的申请人摘要）：终末期心脏病患者， 因年龄限制及缺乏供者而不能接受心脏移植 心脏或使用免疫抑制药物的并发症， 通过LVAD和TAH器械抢救。估计有4万到7万美国人 65岁以下的心血管病患者可以从心脏移植中受益， 实际上，只有2,400名患者接受了这种移植。这些 患者可以从LVAD型装置中受益， 以及替代治疗选择。在900名患有 接受了LVAD系统，越来越多的人超过了三年 他们的左心室辅助装置提供持续的支持随着越来越多的 对于使用LVAD的人来说，需要一个可靠的电源系统， 更长的时间不间断地使用设备。 在第一阶段计划中，我们证明了生产低燃料的可行性 电池堆组件，重约225 g，堆体积为0.19 L。的 单电池的性能与最先进的性能相匹配， 当将单个电池组装成一个 堆栈已经确定了这种退化的原因，并进行了纠正。 第二阶段的建议集中在电力的工程发展 包.进一步的重量/体积减小，热和水管理问题， 膜电极组件的优化，氢气的评价 源、故障分析和初始危害分析是 二期工程。在第二阶段结束时，一个原型单位， 氢存储将在人造器官制造和测试 匹兹堡大学发展中心。 拟定商业应用： 不可用

DESCRIPTION (Unedited Applicant's Abstract):The end-stage cardiac patients, who cannot undergo heart transplantation owing to age limitation, lack of donor hearts or complications in using immunosuppressive drugs are essentially salvaged by LVAD and TAH devices. An estimated 40-70,000 American cardiovascular patients under age 65 could benefit from a heart transplant each year, whereas only 2,400 patients actually receive such transplants. These patients can benefit from the LVAD type devices both as a bridge to transplant as well as an alternative treatment option. Of the -900 patients who have received the LVAD system, a growing number are surpassing the three-year-mark of continuous support with their LVAD device. With such growing number of people on LVAD, there is a need for a reliable power system that could support the devices for longer hours without interruption. In Phase I program, we demonstrated the feasibility of producing a low fuel cell stack assembly, weighing -225 g and stack volume of 0.19 L. The performance of single cell matched those of the state-of-the-art while some performance degradation was observed when single cells were assembled into a stack. The cause for such degradation has been identified and since corrected. The Phase II proposal concentrates on the engineering development of the power pack. Further weight/volume reduction, heat and water management issues, optimization of the membrane electrode assemblies, evaluation of the hydrogen source, failure analysis and initial hazard analysis are the objectives of the Phase II program. At the end of Phase II, a prototype unit with integrated hydrogen storage will be fabricated and tested at the Artificial Organ Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Not Available