RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: Ventricular assist devices have been widely accepted as an alternative treatment for advanced heart failure, while heart transplantation is a limited procedure because of the shortage of donors. In face of a scarce availability of these devices, many centers around the world have developed their own technologies. The Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology holds a dedicated engineering center for mechanical circulatory support, being responsible for creating several prototypes and notable devices, like the first Brazilian artificial heart. The objectives of this study were to provide both a historical overview and a detailed characterization of each original device developed by the center. METHODS: We describe historical and technical features of the main ventricular assist devices developed at the Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology through a focused review on the institute's scientific and technical production on ventricular assist devices or blood pumps, from 1990 to 2022, indexed in the electronic databases Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), PubMed, and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). RESULTS: The following devices were selected from the review: (1) The Spiral Pump is a disposable centrifugal pump with an internal conically shaped rotor, a spiral impeller, which carries threads on its surface. The device was designed for cardiopulmonary bypass in 1992, passed through consecutive design modifications and preclinical tests until approval for clinical application in 2007. (2) The Auxiliary Total Artificial Heart is an electromechanical pulsatile blood pump with left and right chambers, originally designed in 1995 to work as a heterotopic artificial heart. Preclinical studies evaluated hydrodynamic performance in mock circulatory loops and in vivo implants were performed in calves from 1999 to 2009. In 2012, it became the first nationally conceived artificial heart approved for clinical trials in Brazil. (3) The Implantable Centrifugal Blood Pump was conceived in 2006 for long-term circulatory assistance with a unique impeller design concept producing a mixed flow. Preclinical studies included hydrodynamic and hemolysis tests, analysis in a hybrid cardiovascular simulator and anatomical positioning in calves. (4) The Apico-Aortic Blood Pump consists of a miniaturized centrifugal pump originally conceived in 2012 for bridge to transplantation strategy. Preclinical studies included hydrodynamic and hemolysis tests, analysis in a hybrid cardiovascular simulator and anatomical positioning in pigs. (5) The Temporary Circulatory Support Device is a new centrifugal blood pump for temporary ventricular assistance developed with the purpose of bridge to decision or bridge to recovery strategies. Originally conceived in 2013, preclinical studies on the device consisted only of hydrodynamic and hemolysis tests. CONCLUSION: From the academic point of view, Brazil count on a few groups with a considerable output in ventricular assist device research and development. Notable devices produced at Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology, from a total artificial heart to varied and innovative centrifugal pumps, have demonstrated excellent results for future clinical applications. More financial and institutional support are needed for the continuation of these promising research projects.