Compliant Buckled Foam Actuators and Application in Patient-Specific Direct Cardiac Compression.

ABSTRACT: We introduce the use of buckled foam for soft pneumatic actuators. A moderate amount of residual compressive strain within elastomer foam increases the applied force ∼1.4 × or stroke ∼2 × compared with actuators without residual strain. The origin of these improved characteristics is explained analytically. These actuators are applied in a direct cardiac compression (DCC) device design, a type of implanted mechanical circulatory support that avoids direct blood contact, mitigating risks of clot formation and stroke. This article describes a first step toward a pneumatically powered, patient-specific DCC design by employing elastomer foam as the mechanism for cardiac compression. To form the device, a mold of a patient's heart was obtained by 3D printing a digitized X-ray computed tomograph

SUBMITTER: Mac Murray BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5804100 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature