What is the issue for NSW?
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in NSW and cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every 12 minutes. To mechanically assist the failing heart, ventricular assist devices are used as a life-prolonging therapy, either as a bridge to transplant or, in some cases, as a “destination therapy,” meaning the device remains implanted for the rest of the patient’s life. Using current ventricular assist devices, the heart and one or both of the great vessels are cannulated, blood is removed from the heart, and blood is then pumped into the aorta or pulmonary artery. However, ventricular assist devices and artificial hearts require extensive anticoagulation, the process of preventing or slowing down blood clotting. This can lead to major side effects such as fatal cerebral and gastrointestinal bleeding or blood clot formation with subsequent stroke. Design improvements implemented with each generation of ventricular assist devices have helped to reduce the tendency to develop blood clots, however, contact between blood and artificial surfaces of the ventricular assist devices remains.
What does the research aim to do and how?
The aim of this project is to develop a ventricular assist device to act as a bridge to transplant for patients with heart failure. This will help reduce mortality rates in patients. It will use a soft robotic sleeve implanted around the heart and actively compress and twist as a cardiac ventricular assist device. The proposed sleeve will not make contact with blood, potentially removing the need for anticoagulation therapy or blood thinners, and reducing complications such as clotting and infection.
The top three key measures/indicators being used to assess the research outcomes are:
- Demonstrate restoration of cardiac function in animal model.
- Secure industry partnership for further development.
- Complete stakeholder survey to assess market potential for device