Systemic circulation
Pulsatile systemic chamber
Membrane chamber for the systemic circulation; volume and geometry are studied in variants.
Technical details: Pulsatile systemic chamber →Preclinical artificial-heart research · Freiburg
Compact artificial-heart research for durable mechanical circulatory support.
Kanzler Biologicals investigates a compact, pulsatile artificial-heart concept with a high-cycle polymer membrane, in-house drive development, pulmonary-circulation support and built-in fault tolerance.
Development status: Non-clinical / benchtop research. Not an approved medical device.
KB / System architectureDevelopment status
2 circulationssupplied and controlled separatelyCurrent architecture
> 100 mload cycles: the membrane target is several hundred millionDesign target
Severaldrive principles comparedUnder investigation
Pericardiumshape and size for the large majority of adultsDesign target
The engineering premise
Two circulations. Separate jobs.
An artificial heart has to do more than move blood. The systemic and pulmonary circulations work at very different pressures — a single pump for both tasks would either overload the lungs or undersupply the body.
The current development architecture therefore combines a pulsatile chamber for the systemic circulation with a smaller pulse chamber and a continuous-flow pump for the pulmonary circulation. The membrane keeps blood space and drive separate. What is new is the combination as an overall system.
Architecture
Designed as a system, investigated as modules.
Pulmonary circulation
Pulse chamber + continuous flow
Small pulsatile chamber plus a continuous-flow pump for the base flow.
Technical details: Pulse chamber + continuous flow →Materials
High-cycle membrane
Rolling/folding geometry, preload, wall thickness and multilayer build — target: several hundred million load cycles.
Technical details: High-cycle membrane →Drive
Drives compared
Several drive principles are designed and compared on the test rig under identical conditions.
Technical details: Drives compared →Redundancy
Fault tolerance
Separate functional paths so that a single fault does not become a total failure.
Technical details: Fault tolerance →Testing
Endurance & failure analysis
Multi-station endurance rig, accelerated testing and frequency validation.
Technical details: Endurance & failure analysis →Membrane project
Six work packages from specimen to endurance run.
The membrane project is a separate, documented R&D project; the packages partly run in parallel. Targets are not measurements — every value on this website carries a status.
View validation →- 01Requirements analysis and membrane design
- 02Material selection, membrane casting and specimen production
- 03CAD design, numerical FE simulation and prototype manufacturing
- 04Functional tests and iterative geometry adjustment
- 05Development of the multi-station endurance test rig
- 06Endurance, frequency validation and failure analysis
Project status
Clear about what exists today.
Current status
Design work and test bench
CAD revisions, concept calculations, manufactured modules of an earlier architecture stage and a circulatory bench with pressure, temperature and runtime measurement.
Endurance and membranes
Build-up of the multi-station endurance rig, then endurance, frequency-validation and failure analysis of the membrane. In parallel: comparison of drive principles.
No clinical claim
No blood testing, no implantation, no approval. Not an approved medical device and not medical advice.
Collaboration
Hard biomedical problems are solved together.
Focused exchange with researchers and engineers in membrane materials, pump design, controls, electrical engineering and test-bench technology is welcome — explicitly including well-founded disagreement.