Hope for the heart

A new counter-flow heart pump being developed by Queensland University of Technology has the potential to revolutionise future designs of the mechanical heart.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Andy Tan said the heart pump's innovative design was based on a double-output centrifugal model that pushed the blood in a counter direction to ensure correct flow through both sides of the heart, and is the subject of a patent application.

"The counter-flow pump is a bi-ventricular assist device (BVAD), meaning it supports both the left and right sides of the heart simultaneously," he said.

But what's so groundbreaking is that it is the first device to combine the function of two pumps into one unit.

Professor Tan said current double heart pump technology was too bulky because it required the implant of two pumps that worked independently.

"The problem with two pumps is that they require different controllers and can potentially lead to an uneven blood flow. The concept of the counter-flow pump is that it has two independent impellers to simulate two pumps to augment the operations of the left and right ventricles, but is essential only one. Using independent impellers, the blood is able to flow at a higher delivery pressure as required by the left chamber of the heart, and a slower pressure as required by the right chamber of the heart."