The BiVACOR Rotary Biventricular Assist Device: Concept and In Vitro Investigation

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Abstract
The BiVACOR is a novel rotary Biventricular Assist Device (BiVAD) undergoing development to treat global end‐stage heart failure. The design includes left and right vanes positioned on a shared rotating hub to form a double‐sided magnetically and hydrodynamically suspended centrifugal impeller.The performance of the device was assessed in a pulsatile mock circulation loop replicating end‐stage biventricular heart failure, and was shown to restore flow from pathological (2 L/min) to normal levels (5 L/min). A novel technique to balance the left/right outflow of the BiVAD was also investigated, for which a maximum relative left to right outflow differential of 1.8 L/min was achieved at normal physiologic afterloads.The in vitro results encourage device progression to in vivo animal studies. Successful development of this BiVAD will provide a suitably miniature device for patients who require biventricular assistance.