Soft Robotic Sleeve Introduces Life Saving Solution for Heart Failure

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A newly developed soft robot can assist human heart to beat in case of heart failure. Harvard researchers have come up with this new treatment option that can alter the concept of life among heart patients.

The research is a demonstration of applying soft robotics to clinical needs and reducing the burden of heart diseases along with improving the quality of life for heart patients, says paper's lead author Ellen T. Roche. The mechanism of soft robot is linked to the heart beat which is boosted whenever gets weaker and thus each pulse is reinforced. The new device has no direct contact to blood which reduces the risk of blood clotting.

The revolutionary device frees the patient from blood thinners and takes after the human heart. The thin silicon sleeve uses pneumatic actuators which replicate the exterior muscle layer of the human heart. Interesting thing is that it does not need an external pump to power up the actuators, according to Interesting Engineering.

The amazing thing about this new robot is that it works specifically on each case like medication. The sleeve can be customized to a person's heart condition. For example, if one side of the heart is weaker, the device provides more pressure to this side. As soon as the condition improves the actuators slow down to let the heart to improve on its own.

According to ZME Science the simple soft robot safely interacts with soft tissues and works for the improvement of cardiac performance. In the future, more devices can be produced that will deliver mechanotherapy both inside and outside the body, said Conor Walsh, senior author of the paper and the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS and Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute.

Right now the device is tested on animal hearts but its function is equally effective for all mammal hearts. The research ensures strong possibility that all human organs can have augmented performance with soft external robots.