BRNO-I, an implantable, diaphragm-type total artificial heart: technical aspects of design.

The technical aspects of artificialheart design for experiments on calves are presented in this paper. The object of the design was to verify the basic anatomic and hemodynamic criteria for the design of more perfect cardiac prostheses. Each of the ventricles has a 100-ml stroke volume and is dismountable. Rigid parts are made of polymethylmethacrylate. The inlet valve has the shape of a flap. The outlet valve has two polyurethane reinforcing leaves. The diaphragm is also made of polyurethane. During tests using artificial circulation, a maximum cardiac output of 14.6 L/min was achieved. Typical sensitivity of flow on the atrial pressure is 0.3 L/min/torr at a frequency of 90 pulses per minute.