ReliantHeart, Inc., an innovative supplier of advanced mechanical circulatory assist technologies, and Kollmorgen, a leading 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.
“ReliantHeart is advancing LVAD technology by following the example established by Elon Musk of Tesla to improve power efficiency of its drive system and charging components. The change in the manufacturing process to reduce power consumption of the HeartAssist5 has no impact whatsoever on the blood path of the pump. It is startling how much the physics of motors has advanced in the last ten years and the output achieved by so little power,” said ReliantHeart CEO Rodger Ford.
Tom S. Wood, Custom Motor Product Specialist at Kollmorgen stated: “Through the use of advanced motor design tools and optimized material selection, Kollmorgen will continue to provide reliable, state-of-the-art implantable motor technology to ReliantHeart for their LVAD devices. This is a product of the many years of collaboration our two companies have shared."
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