Transcutaneous Energy Transmission System for a Totally-Implantable Artificial Heart in case Using External Battery

We have been developing the externally-coupled transcutaneous energy transmission system (ECTETS) for a totally-implantable artificial heart (TIAH). The transcutaneous energy transmission (TET) system enables the TIAH to supply the driving energy without infectious disease and reduction of patient’s QOL (quality of life). Since the TET system uses the electromagnetic induction between the external (primary) and the internal (secondary) coils, it is necessary for the TET system to be compatible electromagnetically. In the practical use of artificial heart, such as a patient going out, the artificial heart is driven by the energy from the portable rechargeable battery outside of the body. In this paper, the drive performance and the electromagnetic compatibility of the TET system were investigated in case of using the external rechargeable battery. As a result, the ECTETS, driven by the external rechargeable battery consisting of the Lithium ion battery pack with a weight of 430 g, was able to drive the TIAH actuator for 4 hours and 9 minutes. The radiated emission from the ECTETS was suppressed within the regulation of class-B and group-1 in CISPR (international special committee on radio interference) Pub.11, and the ECTETS satisfied the electrostatic discharge immunity test based on IEC61000-4-2 (International Electrotechnical Commission), the radiation immunity test based on IEC61000-4-3, and the power supply frequency magnetic field immunity test based on IEC61000-4-8. Therefore, it was concluded that the ECTETS investigated had satisfactory characteristics in the drive performance and the electromagnetic compatibility.