DESIGN OF FABRIC-REINFORCED POLYURETHANE COMPOSITES FOR AORTIC AND OTHER CARDIAC CONSTRUCTS

When patients experience heart failure, medical devices can support lost cardiac function. However, compliance mismatch between biological tissues and devices present challenges for long term integration. For example, silicone, a common polymer used in soft robotic medical devices, has negative side effects when implanted in vivo. This paper explores biomimetic properties of alternative materials by testing mechanical properties of polyurethane composites. Testing reveals similarities between our composites and native tissues in the heart and aorta. When built into fabric reinforced elastomeric enclosures (fabREEs), our composite actuators behave similar to native aortic tissue. By analyzing hoop and longitudinal stresses in actuators, we present candidate materials for building aortic models for use in transplantations or benchtop testing. We show that these materials can serve to mimic a range of cardiac tissues and that future of medical device design will benefit from considering these soft material composites in new devices.