Controller Design for Wirelessly Powered Heart Pump Drive

The application of mechanical circulatory support systems (blood pump) has been increasingly gaining popularity as the potential therapy for end-stage heart failures. However, due to the practical issues such as potential risk of infection at the exit site of the driveline of the motor, many complications and side effects are reported. As a possible solution, wireless power transfer (WPT) systems have been considered in order to remove the percutaneous driveline. Presently, wireless power transfer systems have been researched extensively in the literature and many of them are dedicated to medical applications. However, in those studies, the load is considered as a simple resistor and such systems are mainly designed for battery charging applications. In this paper, the complete structure of the WPT system including the motor drive is considered in the process of designing a controller for the blood pump.