Numerical computation can save life: FEM simulations for the development of artificial hearts

Worldwide cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death. Together with the limited heart transplants due to the limited number of donor hearts, artificial hearts (AH) are the only therapy available for terminal heart diseases. Starting from the first design of an AH to its operation inside a human body, the AH has to pass several clinical trials, which result in redesigns and optimizations. During this process the dimensions, the weight and the required electromagnetic forces of the AH as well as blood damage, caused e.g. by shear forces or overheating are important parameters. In the design of electrical machines, FEM is a standard tool to calculate forces and losses causing heating in the machine. For this reason numerical computation is adopted for the design of AHs to shorten the described design process. This contribution provides an overview of the historical development of AHs in general and exemplify the adoption of FEM simulations for the design of artificial hearts developed at the RWTH Aachen University. The heart prototype was already in operation during clinical animal test.