Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have been developed to support end-stage heart
failure patients. First-generation LVADs are volume displacement pumps, which function by
mimicking the native heart and can be implanted intra-, extra-, or paracorporeally. These
devices operate by periodically allowing blood to fill a pumping chamber followed by an
ejection of blood from that chamber via pneumatic or electric actuation. Initial development
of volume displacement pumps for post-cardiotomy support was undertaken in the 1960s. In …