In vitro assessment of the apico aortic blood pump: anatomical positioning, hydrodynamic performance, hemolysis studies, and analysis in a hybrid cardiovascular simulator

ABSTRACT

Abstract The Apico Aortic Blood Pump (AABP) is acentrifugal continuous flow left ventricular assist device(LVAD) with ceramic bearings. The device is in the initialdevelopment phase and is being designed to be attacheddirectly to the left ventricular apex by introducing an inletcannula. This paper reports results from in vitro experiments.In order to evaluate implantation procedures anddevice dimensioning, in vitro experiments included an anatomicpositioning study for the analysis of surgical implantationprocedure and device dimensions and positioningthat was performed using the body of a pig. The resultsrevealed no damage caused by the device, and the surgicalimplantation procedure was considered feasible. Hydrodynamicperformance curves were obtained to verify theapplicability of the device as an LVAD, showing adequateperformance. Mechanical blood trauma was analyzedthrough 6-h hemolysis tests, with total pressure head of100 mm Hg and flow of 5 L/min. Mean normalized index ofhemolysis was 0.009 g/100 L (±0.002 g/100 L).Studies usinga hybrid cardiovascular simulator were conducted for threetypes of circulatory conditions normal healthy conditions,concentric hypertrophic heart failure (CHHF), and CHHFwith AABP assistance. Analysis of cardiovascular parametersunder those three conditions demonstrated that whenthe AABP was assisting the system, parameters underCHHF conditions went back to normal healthy values, indicatingthe AABP’s effectiveness as CHHF therapy. Ourpreliminary results indicate that it is feasible to use theAABP as a LVAD. The next steps include long-term invivo experiments.