A new structure transcutaneous transformer for artificial heart system

A new geometrical design of a transcutaneous transformer for an artificial heart system is presented in this paper. The primary and secondary cores are made of ferrite and amorphous magnetic materials respectively. The experimental results indicate that it is possible to transmit an electrical power of 20 W which is sufficient to drive the heart pump. With a gap of 5 mm between the coils, its transmission efficiency with the inverter can be up to 90% with a switching frequency 102.5 kHz. Some characteristics of the proposed transformer are also shown and discussed in this paper.