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LVAD) Breakaway Port Team 13022 Worldwide, 6-10% of people over the age of 65 will develop heart failure with approximately 287,000 deaths in the US every year. One treatment option is a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) which aids a failing heart in pumping blood to the body. One of the major complications of the LVAD is infection due to a transcutaneous driveline. The main cause of driveline infection is due to traumatic forces on the cable that break the interface between the skin tissue and the velour coating of the driveline. To reduce these traumatic forces at the driveline, a breakaway device has been created to help minimize infection rates. •Reduce the magnitude of traumatic forces on surrounding skin •Pump always has a direct connection to a power source and a motor controller signal •Port connection needs to be easy to make for elderly patients •Backup power lasts long enough for the user to seek assistance •Temperature of internal motor controller and battery need to operate safely within human body •Driveline cable has degree of flexibility A 10 pin connector was used as the breakaway device. The connector will separate when a force of 3 Newtons is applied to the connection. A length of driveline will hang outside the body that will be taped to the skin. The tape will help prevent the driveline from catching on objects and reduce the force experienced by the skin surrounding the driveline. Pictured above are the preliminary circuit boards and the schematics for the final boards. The internal board, shown on the left, replaces the functionality of the existing control unit when disconnected. The external board, shown on the right, provides battery life and allows the internal batteries to recharge. Specification (Metric) * The final design integrates all of the customer needs to quantify the performance of the device. The port is free floating with a length of wire hanging from the body. The port will be taped to the body to provide an extra layer of security. The internal device will supply power and signal when the driveline is disconnected. An additional external device will be connected to the existing control unit to provide the patient with battery life and an alarm. Acknowledgements: Dr. Steven Day – Sponsor Edward Hanzlik – Team Guide Joseph Tartakoff – Customer Source: http://www.thoratec.com/ Force transmitted directly outward Unit of Customer Results Measure Needs N 1 to 3 3 Spring constant of cable N/m < 750 25 Minimum back-up support time min 15-30 51 Battery recharge time min 8 to 10 23 W/cm2 < 40 16.6 V 12 or 14 14 cm3 400 370 Heat flux Battery Voltage Max volume of internal device Nick Dominesey – ME Ellie Sanford – ME Matthew Myers – ISE Chris Smith – ME Jason Inman – EE Michael Edson – EE