Biomedical

Artificial Heart Component Performance Simulation

	Abiocor TM Titanium Body

ABIOMED^TM Corporation is a pioneer in researching techniques to safely pump blood. One of their most ambitious projects came to public attention in 2001 when clinical trials began on their newest product, the AbioCor^TM mechanical replacement heart.

The AbioCor^TM literally can be a lifesaver for people who are seriously ill with congestive heart failure and for whom a heart transplant is not available. That can occur because there are far too few transplantable hearts to meet the needs or because the person is ineligible for a variety of medical and other reasons.

The AbioCor’s flexible diaphragm pulsing pump action simulates the expansion/contraction of the human heart. It is fully implantible - no openings through the skin - and doesn't require bulky tethered support systems, unlike some pioneering efforts.

The Abiocor^TM is made primarily of titanium and Angioflex^TM, ABIOMED's proprietary polyurethane plastic. The device incorporates, and has built upon, many advances in technology made by ABIOMED^TM.

JAR Associates was tasked by ABIOMED^TM to perform FEA-based design response simulations on the titanium pump body when it was subjected to loads typical of those that the ABIOCOR^TM mechanical heart would undergo when implanted.

These simulations predicted and graphically displayed stress and deformation response. This in turn allowed ABIOMED’s designers to refine the design for increased robustness and reliability.

For more information on ABIOMED^TM and the AbioCor^TM mechanical replacement heart, go to www.abiomed.com.