Visualization and Measurement of inside an Artificial Heart

Abstract

Nowadays, 10 years survivals implanted a ventricular assist device have been achieved. The achievements indicate hemo-compatibility of rotary blood pumps for artificial hearts have been excellently improved. However, since the observation methods inside blood pumps have not been developed, they have been used in clinical without the understanding of detail interaction between the devices and blood. Therefore, we have developed the optical imaging method using visible and near-infrared light for the blood clotting reaction and individual blood cells dynamics to evaluate the hemo-compatibility non-invasively and continuously. In this study, we will introduce the developed methods and the foresight for the development of future artificial hearts.