A soft robot sleeve that helps hearts beating

Patients with heart failure could be cured with a soft robotic sleeve. Image source: Shutterstock (#360385166)

Researchers created a soft robot that helps patients by keeping their heart beating when it fails. The robot sleeve wraps around the biological heart and helps it to beat through a combination of twisting and compressing movements which is in line with the natural beating rythm. The advantage of the robot sleeve is that it does not come into contact with blood which reduces complications like clotting or potential strokes. The robot is made from a thin silicone layer with soft pneumatic actuators placed around the heart. External pump is attached to the sleeve which uses air to power the actuators. It can be adjusted to the patients’ requirements, the actuator pressure can increase or decrease.

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