Project Goals

SynCardia Systems manufacturers the total artificial heart (TAH-t) used by end stage heart failure patients waiting for a transplant. Sunrise Labs was engaged to develop the next generation driver for the implanted TAH-t.  The Driver is worn as a backpack by the patient to deliver a specific cyclic pressurized air profile through cannulae to drive the TAH-t. The TAH-t then pumps blood through a patient’s circulatory system. The power supply and pump are integrated into the Driver unit, allowing patients to leave the hospital setting and maintain a mobile lifestyle. SynCardia set out to make the driver smarter, more reliable, quieter, smaller, lighter, with a longer battery life, and a controllable pressure profile.

Sunrise Solution

• Architected a highly robust system with a pneumatic pump directly driven by a DC motor
• Power is triply redundant
• Multiple safety processors controlled the processes, monitoring, and alarming
• Usability was enhanced through a touchscreen GUI, and robust battery swapping mechanisms
• Among other innovations; the team invented a low friction piston seal that runs extended cycles with no oil and no maintenance

 

Results

A robust, reliable, and whisper quiet next generation wearable Driver with many new features and upgrades.