• magnetic actuation
• soft robotics
• total artificial heart
• Heart failure

According to the latest statistics published by the European Heart Network, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in most European countries. In particular, the major single source of the overall deaths in Europe (19% among men, 20% among women), is the ischaemic heart disease, the principal aetiology of heart failures. Although the heart failure has always been a plight and nowadays is affecting about 26 million people worldwide, to date, the treatment options remain limited: the only optimal and effective solution for end-stage patients is a total heart transplant.
Due to the degenerative nature of the disease and the paucity of available donors, since the late 50s, one of the most ambitious and prominent bioengineering challenges has been to design a device able to, not only support, but also completely substitute the functionalities of the human heart. Several solutions were proposed, yet none of them has been deemed sufficiently reliable to be used as destination therapy, leaving the hurdle still to be overcome.
To date, the SynCardia™ is the only commercially available total artificial heart approved by FDA. It is basically a pneumatic pump, supplied by percutaneous drivelines. Although it has been successfully implanted in more than 1300 people, it is still used as only bridge to transplant device and does not represent a permanent solution.
The emerging field of soft robotics could provide a breakthrough solution to the problem. Thanks to the incredible number of application fields, the possibility to use materials already (or easy to make) biocompatible, the safe human-robot interaction, but also the lightness, the easily reproducible and cheap technological alternatives, this field is an optimal starting point for artificial organs applications.
In this view, this thesis aims at presenting the theoretical basis for a feasibility study of a magnetically-operated device, able to replicate the physiological pumping functionalities of the ventricle of a human heart. Analytical and FEM based models of a left ventricle-like chamber have been developed and set of tests have been conducted on the first prototypes.
The results show an overall volume of 132 ml with a potential ejection fraction of 76% against the 62% of human heart. Although several improvements are necessary, particularly regarding the bulkiness of the actuation system, these outcomes constitute a good starting point for the analysed technology, providing optimal room for improvement, particularly concerning the adaptability, the scalability and the potential customisation of the device.