Drive design for a Total Artificial Heart
Togehter with the Chair of Applied Medical Engineering (AME), the Institut of Electrical Machines (IEM) is developing a total artificial heart (TAH), which provides all human heart functions and is able to generate a sufficient perfusion of the human body. The AME is developing the blood pump, which is operated by a linear drive, designed and developed at the IEM. By evacuating the blood chambers in alternating operation, a pulsatile blood flow is generated. Due to the limited volume in the human thorax, the weight and the dimensions of the TAH are limited. Therefore an optimized drive design for the TAH application is essential to provide the required forces for the blood pump and to limit the electrical losses in the drive to prevent blood damage caused by overheating.