Heart Cuff with Dielectric Elastomer Membrane for Thrombosis Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current circulatory assistance devices for the heart are inefficient and pose risks of thrombosis and hemorrhage due to direct contact of blood with mechanical components, requiring external pumps and bulky implants, and lack long-term solutions for heart failure treatment.
Innovation Solution
A circulatory assistance device using a cuff with a dielectric elastomer membrane controlled by a heartbeat-synchronized control device, featuring an outer contraction layer and an inner padding layer with an outlet valve that opens in emergency power loss to prevent constriction and allow liquid escape, reducing thrombosis and hemorrhage risks and enabling long-term heart support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If an external pump is used to accelerate blood flow, then the pumping function is achieved, but the risk of thrombosis increases due to blood contact with mechanical components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pump system with a dielectric elastomer membrane that uses electrical actuation to generate radial compression. This eliminates mechanical moving parts that contact blood, thereby reducing thrombosis risk while maintaining the pumping function through electro-mechanical actuation of the cuff.
Solution Approach 2:
The dielectric elastomer membrane acts as an intermediary between the electrical control system and the blood vessel. Instead of mechanical components directly contacting blood, the membrane transduces electrical energy into mechanical compression, serving as a non-invasive mediator that avoids direct blood-contacting mechanical parts.
2Ease of operation
If implantation of tubing systems is performed, then blood delivery is achieved, but the risk of hemorrhage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the tubing system from the implantable device. By using a cuff that can be pulled over the heart externally, the system removes the need for implanted input and output tubing, thereby eliminating the source of hemorrhage risk while maintaining blood delivery capability through external compression.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a cuff with dielectric elastomer membrane is used, then thrombosis and hemorrhage risks are reduced, but the device requires precise synchronization with heartbeat
Solution Approach 1:
The control device incorporates feedback mechanisms that detect cardiac cycle timing and adjust the activation of the dielectric elastomer membrane accordingly. This feedback control ensures precise synchronization with the heartbeat, optimizing the compression timing to enhance pumping efficiency while maintaining safety.
4Productivity
If periodic radial compression is applied to blood vessel, then blood flow is generated, but bidirectional flow occurs which reduces pump efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic radial compression through the dielectric elastomer membrane, which is activated in sync with the cardiac cycle. This periodic action generates unidirectional blood flow by compressing the vessel during specific phases of the heartbeat, preventing bidirectional flow and maintaining pump efficiency through rhythmically timed compression events.
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 device provides efficient, long-term heart support with reduced power consumption, minimizing the need for external apparatus and improving patient quality of life by avoiding thrombosis and hemorrhage risks, and allowing extended operation with limited power supply.
Implementation Method 1
Dielectric elastomers consist of a highly incompressible, elastically deformable elastomer film... When power is applied to the electrodes, the elastomer undergoes reversible deformation, wherein the thickness of the elastomer film decreases and the elastomer film simultaneously elongates in both directions perpendicular to the thickness direction.
Data Source
AI summary
Circulatory assistance device for a heart of a living being, including a cuff for periodically applying pressure to the heart by at least one dielectric elastomer membrane which is controllable by a control device in synchronization with a cardiac beat in order to convey blood in pulses, wherein the cuff is designed to be pulled over the outside of the heart and for this purpose has an inner shape that is adapted to the outer contour of the heart at least in the region outside the ventricles, wherein the cuff is composed of an outer contraction layer including the dielectric elastomer membrane and an inner padding layer, and the inner padding layer is filled with an incompressible liquid and has at least one outlet valve, which is closed in a normal state and opened in an emergency state.