Towards Alternative Approaches for Coupling of a Soft Robotic Sleeve to the Heart

• Published in: Annals of biomedical engineering 2018-10, Vol.46 (10), p.1534-1547
• Main Authors: Horvath, Markus A., Varela, Claudia E., Dolan, Eimear B., Whyte, William, Monahan, David S., Payne, Christopher J., Wamala, Isaac A., Vasilyev, Nikolay V., Pigula, Frank A., Mooney, David J., Walsh, Conor J., Duffy, Garry P., Roche, Ellen T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Biochemistry; Biological and Medical Physics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedicine; Biophysics; Cardiac Surgical Procedures - instrumentation; Cardiac Surgical Procedures - methods; Classical Mechanics; Compression; Computed tomography; Coupling; Disease Models, Animal; Epicardium; Finite element method; Fixation; Heart; Heart diseases; Heart failure; Heart Failure - pathology; Heart Failure - surgery; Heart function; Histology; Mechanical properties; Medical materials; Medical Robotics; Myocardium; Robotic Surgical Procedures - instrumentation; Robotic Surgical Procedures - methods; Robotics; Silicones; Sleeves; Soft robotics; Swine
• ISSN: 0090-6964; 1573-9686
• DOI: 10.1007/s10439-018-2046-2

Efficient coupling of soft robotic cardiac assist devices to the external surface of the heart is crucial to augment cardiac function and represents a hurdle to translation of this technology. In this work, we compare various fixation strategies for local and global coupling of a direct cardiac compression sleeve to the heart. For basal fixation, we find that a sutured Velcro band adheres the strongest to the epicardium. Next, we demonstrate that a mesh-based sleeve coupled to the myocardium improves function in an acute porcine heart failure model. Then, we analyze the biological integration of global interface material candidates (medical mesh and silicone) in a healthy and infarcted murine model and show that a mesh interface yields superior mechanical coupling via pull-off force, histology, and microcomputed tomography. These results can inform the design of a therapeutic approach where a mesh-based soft robotic DCC is implanted, allowed to biologically integrate with the epicardium, and actuated for active assistance at a later timepoint. This strategy may result in more efficient coupling of extracardiac sleeves to heart tissue, and lead to increased augmentation of heart function in end-stage heart failure patients.