Ricerc@Sapienza

This article deals with the design of a wireless powering system for a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The modern LVAD is mainly a miniaturized blood pump attached to the heart and is driven by an electric motor powered by a cable driveline that exits the patient's body through the skin to be connected with an external battery. The driveline is a portal to the exterior environment and this can cause frequent and severe infections. The goal of this article is the elimination of the cable link between the interior and the exterior of the human body.

This study deals with the design of a wireless powering system for a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The proposed system uses the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology based on the magnetic resonant coupling. For this kind of application two main aspects must be taken into account. First, the LVAD is implanted in the heart, so the power must be wirelessly transferred at a significant depth inside the human body. Second, the LVAD requires a much higher power than other active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) and for 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.