Design and Realization of a Highly-Compact Tubular Linear Actuator for a
Novel Total Artificial Heart
Abstract
The ShuttlePump is a novel implantable total artificial heart (TAH)
concept based on a Linear-Rotary Actuator (LiRA) and currently under
development at the Power Electronic Systems Laboratory, ETH Zurich in
close partnership with Charit´e Berlin and the Medical University of
Vienna.
This paper presents the analysis, design and realization of the
ShuttlePump Linear Actuator (LA) part, which is necessary to provide
about 45 N of axial actuation force. Design criteria are minimization of
volume and generated power losses in the winding, which could result in
excess heating and/or blood damage, i.e. protein denaturation and
aggregation. The LA is implemented as a Tubular LA (TLA) to maximize the
active area for linear/axial force generation. After a preliminary
analysis based on first principles, the TLA is optimized in detail with
the aid of FEM simulations. The experimental measurements conducted on
the realized TLA prototype verify the FEM simulation results and confirm
the suitability for the realization of the ShuttlePump TAH.