2018 Volume 26 Issue 2 Pages 400-406
A magnetically levitated total artificial heart has been developed. The device has a magnetic bearing and a motor stator at center of the device. The left and right impellers are connected with a rod through a center hole of the stator core. A magnetic bearing controls the axial position and tilting motion of the levitated impeller. The radial displacement of the impeller is restricted with a passive stability characteristic of the magnetic system. A repulsive permanent magnetic bearing is applied for improvement of the radial stiffness and its performance was evaluated. At the rotation speed of 2000 rpm and the flow rate of 5 L/min, the maximum radial displacement was suppressed from 0.39 mm to 0.25 mm by the repulsive permanent magnetic bearing.
