3D printed lost-wax casted soft silicone monoblocks enable heart-inspired pumping by internal combustion

Schumacher, Christoph M.; Loepfe, Michael; Fuhrer, Roland; Grass, Robert N.; Stark, Wendelin J.

doi:10.1039/c4ra01497a

Cited by 47 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The sTAH was prepared by a lost‐wax casting method, which had already been presented from our group . A detailed description of the manufacturing process is available in the supporting information.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process allows the low cost production of pumps of silicone monoblocks with complex chamber design, without any seams and mechanical parts. In 2014, Schumacher et al presented a combustion‐driven soft pump, which showed human heart‐like pumping characteristics . In this study, we present a novel concept of a pneumatically driven TAH, which is made of one silicone elastomer monoblock and thus, is completely soft.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Recently, the field of soft technologies has driven considerable attention . In this field different completely soft pumps have been presented, which are manufactured by a 3D‐printing, lost‐wax casting technique . This process allows the low cost production of pumps of silicone monoblocks with complex chamber design, without any seams and mechanical parts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Soft Total Artificial Heart—First Concept Evaluation on a Hybrid Mock Circulation

et al. 2017

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The technology of 3D-printing has allowed the production of entirely soft pumps with complex chamber geometries. We used this technique to develop a completely soft pneumatically driven total artificial heart from silicone elastomers and evaluated its performance on a hybrid mock circulation. The goal of this study is to present an innovative concept of a soft total artificial heart (sTAH). Using the form of a human heart, we designed a sTAH, which consists of only two ventricles and produced it using a 3D-printing, lost-wax casting technique. The diastolic properties of the sTAH were defined and the performance of the sTAH was evaluated on a hybrid mock circulation under various physiological conditions. The sTAH achieved a blood flow of 2.2 L/min against a systemic vascular resistance of 1.11 mm Hg s/mL (afterload), when operated at 80 bpm. At the same time, the mean pulmonary venous pressure (preload) was fixed at 10 mm Hg. Furthermore, an aortic pulse pressure of 35 mm Hg was measured, with a mean aortic pressure of 48 mm Hg. The sTAH generated physiologically shaped signals of blood flow and pressures by mimicking the movement of a real heart. The preliminary results of this study show a promising potential of the soft pumps in heart replacements. Further work, focused on increasing blood flow and in turn aortic pressure is required.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

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A Soft Total Artificial Heart—First Concept Evaluation on a Hybrid Mock Circulation

et al. 2017

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“…3D printing is now emerging as both a method for producing robots, machines, and sensors indirectly using fugitive molds; or directly, using Digital Mask Project Stereolithography (DMP‐SL), a commercial “polyjet” polymer deposition process to directly form complex 3D pneumatic actuators and robots containing functionally graded materials, and via Direct Ink Writing (DIW) (Figure a–c). In an example by Wehner et al (2016), the energy source for driving actuation is directly embedded within the robot itself .…”

Section: Fabrication Of Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Presently, FEAs using compressed air have been shown to undergo large amplitude actuation (>200% volume change) in under 50 ms . There still exists room to improve upon the state of the art by placing the pressure source closer to or within the actuators themselves, using more energetic sources that rapidly produce more pressure with less mass (e.g., combustion of hydrocarbons), or taking advantage of 3D printing to design actuators with high surface area: volume ratios. The latter concept is analogous to the fractal design of natural vascular systems, such as the veins of plants and animals and will result in more rapid actuation with equivalent pressure drops …”

Section: Pressure Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Robotics: Review of Fluid‐Driven Intrinsically Soft Devices; Manufacturing, Sensing, Control, and Applications in Human‐Robot Interaction

et al. 2017

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The emerging field of soft robotics makes use of many classes of materials including metals, low glass transition temperature (Tg) plastics, and high Tg elastomers. Dependent on the specific design, all of these materials may result in extrinsically soft robots. Organic elastomers, however, have elastic moduli ranging from tens of megapascals down to kilopascals; robots composed of such materials are intrinsically soft À they are always compliant independent of their shape. This class of soft machines has been used to reduce control complexity and manufacturing cost of robots, while enabling sophisticated and novel functionalities often in direct contact with humans. This review focuses on a particular type of intrinsically soft, elastomeric robot À those powered via fluidic pressurization.

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Contrast Agent Incorporation into Silicone Enables Real‐Time Flow‐Structure Analysis of Mammalian Vein‐Inspired Soft Pumps

Loepfe

Schumacher

Burri

et al. 2015

Adv Funct Materials

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The construction of machines consisting essentially of soft parts is a nascent and multidisciplinary research field between material science, machine engineering, and robotics. Soft silicones represent a promising class of materials for the creation of a vast multitude of biologically inspired entities. In the present work, a new type of mammalian vein‐inspired soft silicone pump is introduced and characterized, which is fabricated by virtual lost‐wax casting of 3D‐printed injection molds. These pumps can be actuated pneumatically or by internal gas combustion and preserve their functionality even after a freezing/unfreezing cycle. The possibility of using medical examination methods such as ultrasonic imaging to directly access flow information inside soft pumps is shown. Based on soda lime glass microspheres, a method is demonstrated to enhance contrast properties during such color online Doppler imaging for a detailed understanding of the inner fluid‐structure interactions.

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3D printed lost-wax casted soft silicone monoblocks enable heart-inspired pumping by internal combustion

Abstract: Inspired by the natural expansion and contraction mechanism, we present a combustion powered soft silicone monoblock pump lasting for over 10 000 pumping cycles.

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

A Soft Total Artificial Heart—First Concept Evaluation on a Hybrid Mock Circulation

A Soft Total Artificial Heart—First Concept Evaluation on a Hybrid Mock Circulation

Soft Robotics: Review of Fluid‐Driven Intrinsically Soft Devices; Manufacturing, Sensing, Control, and Applications in Human‐Robot Interaction

Contrast Agent Incorporation into Silicone Enables Real‐Time Flow‐Structure Analysis of Mammalian Vein‐Inspired Soft Pumps

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