2025-06-03
A soft robotic total artificial hybrid heart
Publication
Publication
Nat. Commun. , Volume 16 - Issue 1 p. 5146: 1- 14
End-stage heart failure is a deadly disease. Current total artificial hearts (TAHs) carry high mortality and morbidity and offer low quality of life. To overcome current biocompatibility issues, we propose the concept of a soft robotic, hybrid (pumping power comes from soft robotics, innerlining from the patient’s own cells) TAH. The device features a pneumatically driven actuator (septum) between two ventricles and is coated with supramolecular polymeric materials to promote anti-thrombotic and tissue engineering properties. In vitro, the Hybrid Heart pumps 5.7 L/min and mimics the native heart’s adaptive function. Proof-of-concept studies in rats and an acute goat model demonstrate the Hybrid Heart’s potential for clinical use and improved biocompatibility. This paper presents the first proof-of-concept of a soft, biocompatible TAH by providing a platform using soft robotics and tissue engineering to create new horizons in heart failure and transplantation medicine.
| Additional Metadata | |
|---|---|
| European Union Horizon 2020 , Hartstichting, Holland Hybrid Heart | |
| Springer Nature | |
| doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60372-6 | |
| Nat. Commun. | |
| Organisation | Soft Robotic Matter |
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Arfaee, M., Vis, A., Bartels, P., van Laake, L., Lorenzon, L., Ibrahim, D., … Kluin, J. (2025). A soft robotic total artificial hybrid heart. Nat. Commun., 16(1), 5146: 1–14. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60372-6 |
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