Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

New wireless heart pump makes no contact with blood

August 29, 2016 By Abigail Esposito

EPFL-pump

The pump consists of a set of rings positioned around the aorta that contract and expand. When their movement is coordinated, the rings create pressure waves to help move blood through the aorta.

Scientists at Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne developed a completely new type of heart pump that does not make any contact with blood.

There are a number of pumps on the market, including total heart replacements and left-ventricular assist devices, but they all can damage red blood cells. Moreover, the turbulence produced by the pumps can lead to the formation of clots, requiring patients to take anticoagulant drugs.

The new cardiac support pump consists of a set of rings positioned around the aorta that contract and expand. When their movement is coordinated, the rings create pressure waves that help move blood through the aorta. (In a way, the idea is reminiscent of externally placed intra-aortic balloon pump treatment, although IABP is a diastolic augmentation device primarily for coronary flow.)

The technology relies on EPFL’s dielectric electro-active polymer, which rapidly changes shape in response to electrical current. The current is induced through a magnetic field that can be delivered using an external device, so no wires penetrate the skin, making infections less likely.

More development is needed before the technology will be tried on humans, but the researchers are already working with folks at University Hospital of Bern on clinical trials. Here’s a video featuring the scientists behind the pump explaining how it works and the benefits it’s expected to bring:

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
epfl.ch

University Hospital of Bern
insel.ch/en

Related Articles Read More >

Prix Galien USA 2022 nominees
The 24 best medical device innovations of 2022
GE Healthcare image illustrating contrast media uses
GE Healthcare picks AI imaging startups for inaugural Edison Accelerator
A portrait of Ellen Roche, MIT School of Engineering associate professor
New implant design prevents scar tissue without drugs, MIT says
Thermedical's Durablate device has a handle with a blue light at one end and a catheter for scarring heart tissue
New method of cardiac ablation used in first in-human trial for ventricular tachycardia

DeviceTalks Weekly.

August 12, 2022
DTW – Medtronic’s Mauri brings years of patient care to top clinical, regulatory, scientific post
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech