DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device, a lightweight, fully implantable device, gives patients mobility and freedom. The internal battery has a two-hour life, enabling patients to take a shower or swim.

Approximately 20 million people worldwide suffer annually from heart failure, a quarter of them in America alone. In the United States, an alarmingly low 2,500 donor hearts are available each year.

The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology lead to major design improvements on the DeBakey heart assist device, enabling its implantation in humans. Ames scientists employed Space Shuttle main engine technology and CFD modeling capabilities, coupled with the NAS Systems Division's high-performance computing technology, to make several design modifications that vastly improved the heart device's performance.

The research team investigated seven different designs, altering cavity shapes, blade curvature, inlet cannula shapes, and impeller tip clearance size. They then suggested three major design modifications to solve the problems of cell damage resulting from exposure to high shear stress and interrupted regions of blood flow in the DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device.