Artificial Heart Blood Circulation System With Dual Gas Buffer Reservoirs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing artificial heart technologies, whether pneumatic or hydraulic, face challenges in achieving a balance between robustness, reliability, energy efficiency, and compactness, with pneumatic systems being cumbersome and energy-intensive while hydraulic systems are less robust and reliable.
Innovation Solution
A blood circulation system utilizing a dual gas buffer reservoir system with a pneumatic pump to maintain a pressure difference, allowing for efficient blood flow generation with reduced energy consumption and compactness, incorporating a vane pump and piezoelectric or shape memory switches for gas distribution, enabling self-sufficiency and miniaturization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pneumatic pump concept is used with external equipment, then robustness and reliability are improved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the high-pressure generation function from the external equipment and relocates it to a compact high-pressure pump integrated within the artificial heart system. This allows the external equipment to be simplified to only low-pressure gas supply, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining the reliability benefits of pneumatic actuation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a dual-reservoir gas buffer system as an intermediary between the low-pressure external gas supply and the high-pressure pump. The first reservoir stores low-pressure gas, the second reservoir stores high-pressure gas, and the high-pressure pump acts as a mediator to transfer and compress gas between these reservoirs, enabling autonomous operation without complex external high-pressure equipment.
2Reliability
If pneumatic pump concept is used with external equipment, then robustness is improved, but autonomy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements preliminary action by pre-storing gas in both low-pressure and high-pressure buffer reservoirs before operation. The high-pressure pump pre-compresses gas into the second reservoir, creating a stored energy reserve that enables the system to operate autonomously for extended periods without external intervention, while maintaining the robust pneumatic actuation mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If hydraulic motor system is used, then autonomy is improved, but robustness and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention selectively applies pneumatic principles to the actuation mechanism while using hydraulic principles for power transmission. The pneumatic system provides robust and reliable membrane actuation through gas pressure, while the integrated high-pressure pump and buffer reservoirs provide autonomous operation, combining the advantages of both pneumatic and hydraulic systems.
4Productivity
If single pump directly injects/aspirates fluid, then blood flow is generated, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the blood flow generation function into two distinct components: the high-pressure pump generates pneumatic pressure to actuate the membranes, and the membranes themselves perform the actual blood pumping action. This segmentation allows the pump to operate at lower pressures and reduced energy consumption, while the membranes amplify the effect to generate adequate blood flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible membranes act as intermediaries between the pneumatic pressure source and the blood flow generation. The membranes convert pneumatic pressure into mechanical pumping action, enabling the system to achieve effective blood flow with lower energy input than would be required for a direct liquid pump.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves robust and reliable blood circulation with lower energy consumption than pneumatic systems, offering enhanced autonomy and compactness, making it suitable for implantation and ex-vivo perfusion with minimal energy input.
Implementation Method 1
a pneumatic pump supplied with electrical energy mounted between said first buffer reservoir and said second buffer reservoir and intended to suck gas from said first tank to inject it into said second tank
Implementation Method 2
each comprising a flexible membrane capable of beating under the action of a gas, each of said membranes sealingly separating a blood circulation chamber and a chamber containing said gas
Data Source
AI summary
A system for generating a blood circulation in at least part of an organ of a vertebrate, including a first artificial cavity and a second artificial cavity. The cavities each include a flexible membrane capable of beating under the action of a gas. Each of the membranes separate in a sealed manner a blood circulation chamber and a chamber containing the gas. The system also includes: a first low pressure gas buffer reservoir; a second high-pressure gas buffer reservoir; a gas distribution; and a pneumatic pump.