Total artificial heart using neural and fuzzy controller.

The aortic pressure (AoP) and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) are important factors for the long-term survival of the patient receiving an implant of a total artificial heart (TAH). A new afterload regulation method using neural controllers has been developed for a moving actuator type TAH. Without any transducer, the proposed neural controller, based on the predetermined peak level of the motor current, regulates AoP by adjusting the actuator velocity. At the same time, a fuzzy controller based on expert knowledge prevents the PAP from being abnormally high. The proposed controller not only regulates the pump output on the maintenance of the normal AoP and PAP, but it also successfully controls the suction in the right heart. In vitro tests show that the proposed neural and fuzzy controllers effectively regulate AoP and PAP as well as prevent atrial suction.