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VentrAssist

In 2004, clinical trials began in the UK for the VentrAssist device, designed by the Australian company VentraCore. The VentrAssist is part of a group of heart devices known as LVADs (left ventricular assistance devices), which do not replace the heart but, instead, are implanted underneath the rib cage, alongside the heart, to augment the pumping action of the left ventricle.

Most LVADs use a pulsing motion to circulate the blood, mimicking the motion of the heart. The complicated designs necessary to emulate the heart's function make the devices prone to failure and can cause blood to pool and clot, leading to strokes. LVADs are often used as a last resort.

The VentrAssist has only one moving part, a hydrodynamically suspended centrifugal rotor, that drives a continuous stream of blood and is six times smaller than the standard LVAD. Magnetic fields created by copper coils cause magnets to push the blood through the pump. Blood comes through a tube from the left ventricle and back out to the aorta. The continuous flow of blood reduces the risk of clotting by preventing the blood from stagnating. It also has a side effect: patients with the VentrAssist have no pulse.

The VentrAssist is currently in trials with the FDA for approved use in the United States.