Innovative devices

Innovative devices

Leading researchers, engineers, and clinicians from organisations across Australia are collaborating to create and develop novel medical devices that address the growing global prevalence of heart failure. There are three devices currently in the program’s pipeline.

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH):

  • was invented in Australia
  • is the world’s first implantable rotary blood pump that uses state-of-the-art magnetic levitation technology as a complete replacement for a human heart
  • is compact and can be fitted in smaller adults and children
  • has few moving parts, so is expected to last 10+ years, much longer than present-day devices
  • will be a heart replacement device, rather than a temporary solution until a transplant is available
  • will automatically adapt to meet the physiological needs of the patients, thereby significantly improving the quality of life for its users.

The Artificial Heart Frontiers Program will work with BiVACOR Pty Ltd to commercialise the innovative device and manufacture components in Australia.

Left Ventricular Assist Device

Implanting a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) is an increasingly common procedure to help patients with late-stage heart failure. The Artificial Heart Frontiers Program will adapt BiVACOR’s TAH technologies to develop a novel LVAD design that would give clinicians and patients a vast improvement over current devices on the market. The new device would provide improved blood compatibility (less adverse events), improved physiological interactions (better flow adaptation from rest to exercise), and better pressure control (lower risk for stroke due to pump high pressures).

Mini-Pump

Patients experiencing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have no option  for mechanical circulatory support, and are limited to pharmaceutical therapies and end-of-life care. The age and comorbidities of these patients often preclude the use of a typical LVAD. The Artificial Heart Frontiers Program will develop a small device that can be implanted in a minimally invasive procedure for patients with HFpEF.  It will offer an entirely new form of treatment to clinicians and their patients, thus addressing this large and unmet need.

The above devices form a pipeline for the Artificial Heart Frontiers Program of much needed products that are expected to be commercialised from the near to medium term, and will seed an entirely new Australian specialised industry.