A novel left ventricular assist device with impeller pump and brushless motor compacted in one unit

The impeller pump we developed has assisted the circulation of calves for two months, but further improvements to solve the problems of bearing wear and thrombosis along the bearing are desirable. Thus we have designed a new left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with impeller pump and brushless motor compacted in one unit, for which a ceramic bearing and a purge system through the bearing have been devised. The first experiments indicate that this new device could prospectively work for more than one year.