IFAC PapersOnLine 51-27 (2018) 158–161 ScienceDirect Available online at www.sciencedirect.com 2405-8963 © 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Peer review under responsibility of International Federation of Automatic Control. 10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.11.650 3 University Sao Judas Tadeu, Sao Paulo, Brazil Abstract: The main cause of death in most countries of the world is cardiovascular diseases. Heart transplant or/and the usage of a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) is often a form of treatment for severe heart diseases. The objective of this study is to analyze the importance of volute vanes in the efficiency of a new type of VAD, the Transventricular Assist Device (TVAD). Investigations concerning the hydrodynamic performance are conducted using finite element methods aiming at the best conditions to support the circulatory system and to avoid to the maximum areas of turbulent flow. Two three- dimensional pump models were created using computer aided design system, one without and the other with volute vanes. Flow in both models was, then, analyzed by Computer Fluid Dynamic (CFD) tools. Analyses showed that, when volute contains vanes, flow is redirected toward the rotor while, in the case of volute without vanes, the fluid recirculates in the pump’s interior. From now on, TVAD studies will always consider the presence of vanes in the volute. © 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Development of a Transventricular Assist Device (TVAD) – Influence of the Volute Vanes Gustavo C de Andrade (1,2), Aron J P de Andrade (1,2,3), Jeison W G da Fonseca (1,3), Bruno U da Silva (1,3), Evandro Drigo (1,2), José R Cardoso (2), Oswaldo Horikawa (2) 1 Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2 University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Keywords: axial flow pump, ventricular assist device, circulatory support, three-dimensional modeling, CFD, fluid dynamic study. 1. INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, it is estimated that 17.5 million people died of cardiovascular disease in 2012, which is 31% of all global deaths (WHO, 2017). Heart transplant or/and the usage of a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) is often a form of treatment for severe heart diseases. In some circumstances, a heart may regain its contractibility after being given time for it to "rest" with the help of a VAD. In most cases, however, advanced heart failure is a permanent and irreversible condition, and only the VAD will supply the blood flow. Either way, the VAD still be worthwhile. There are currently some well-known axial pumps, such as Jarvik 2000® (Figure 1), which without using any valve, has approximately the size of a type C battery. A high-speed DC motor and a rotor supported by a pair of ceramic bearings are enclosure inside a titanium housing. This pump is able to displace up to 8.5 L / min of blood from the heart to the aorta. The enterprise HeartWare is developing the "Longhorn" pump, a new ventricular assist device (VAD) that is now in the pre-clinical testing phase. Longhorn is able to deliver up to 6 L / min of flow to partially support ventricular function (Connellan, 2013). Figure 1 - Representation of Jarvik axial pump implanted in the heart (Westaby, 1998). In Brazil, a group, composed by the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (EPUSP), Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology (IDPC) and other institutes, is developing, under grant from São Paulo State Science Supporting Foundation (FAPESP), a research project aiming the development of an axial blood pump to be fully implanted, Figure 2.