Development of Istanbul heart version 2

Heart Failure (HF) continues to be a leading cause of death due to the shortage of donors for transplantation. This shortage has led to the development of several alternative solutions/therapies. Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices (MCSD) are one possible solution that has been proposed. Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) is one of the most common MCSD available. LVADs are generally used as a bridge-to-transplant, bridge-to-recovery, or destination therapy for HF patients. Of the many LVAD design considerations, ensuring blood compatibility and hemolysis prevention is of paramount importance. This study aims to develop a small and compact version of the Istanbul Heart (iHeart). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been employed in reducing the size and optimizing the impeller geometry while maintaining the required performance attributes. The LVAD impeller diameter is reduced to 30 mm while wrap angles are varied to minimize the hemolysis index and to deliver a 5 L/min flow rate at 100 mm-Hg. In-silico tests are performed to find the best impeller geometry achieving the set conditions. An experimental study was performed to validate the simulations. The experiments measured the hydraulic performance in terms of pressure and flow rate as well as the hemolytic performance in terms of hematocrit and plasma-free hemoglobin. Finally, an initial in-vivo study is conducted for the selected LVAD design. Two adult sheep weighing around 50 kg have been used to evaluate the anatomical fitting, biocompatibility, and performance of the LVAD in the short term.