ReliantHeart, Inc., a supplier of advanced mechanical circulatory assist technologies, and Kollmorgen, a provider of motion systems and components, announced a partnership to produce an energy efficient motor stator designed to cut the power consumption of the HeartAssist5 Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) by 50%.
Energy efficiency is the key to removing the driveline or external cable from an LVAD. Drivelines that exit the patient’s body and attach to an external controller are the source of adverse events and infection. It is estimated that driveline infections are one of the most serious complications associated with LVADS.
This will also allow the LVAD to become a Transcutaneous Energy Transfer (TET) wireless device, with no wires exiting the body and an internal battery that can provide power to the patient for as much as four hours without recharging.
Just like electric vehicles which have evolved to go longer without a charge, the technology to produce power efficiency in the modern automobile can be applied in modern medicine.
Kollmorgen
www.kollmorgen.com