Soft Robots Could Donate Their Heart to Humans

Heart failure is a growing global health burden, and existing artificial hearts and mechanical pumps often fall short of long-term clinical needs. Many current devices rely on rigid components and complex mechanical systems that can damage blood cells, trigger infections, and fail to replicate natural heart motion. Researchers are now exploring soft robotics as a new path toward safer, more lifelike total artificial hearts that better integrate with the human body and reduce these complications.

Amsterdam UMC’s (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Maziar Arfaee, in his PhD defense, “Can Soft Robots Donate Their Heart to Humans? Emerging Technologies in Total Artificial Heart Development,” highlights how advanced technologies are reshaping the landscape of cardiac replacement therapy. His research draws on advances from multiple academic biomedical engineering groups working in soft robotics and cardiac device design. Soft robotic systems are built from flexible, elastic materials that bend and stretch like real heart tissue, allowing them to move more naturally inside the body.

Instead of rigid pumps, researchers developed balloon-like and pouch-based actuators that expand and contract smoothly to circulate blood. These soft motors are designed to mimic the heart’s natural rhythm while minimizing mechanical stress on blood and surrounding tissue. The research analyzed limitations of earlier artificial heart designs and tested new soft robotic concepts in laboratory and early animal studies.

One prototype, known as the LIMO (Less In, More Out) heart, demonstrated improved pumping efficiency while requiring less internal space. Another design, the Hybrid Heart, incorporated biocompatible surface coatings that reduced clot formation and infection risk. Early testing showed stable blood flow and favorable interaction with biological tissues, supporting the feasibility of soft robotic cardiac systems.

Soft robotic hearts could represent a major shift in cardiac replacement therapy by offering smaller, safer, and more durable alternatives to traditional mechanical devices. By closely matching the mechanics of real heart tissue, these systems may improve long-term outcomes for patients with end-stage heart failure.

Future research will focus on long-term implantation studies, further miniaturization, and refining materials to ensure durability and biocompatibility in human patients. Continued innovation could allow future patients to receive artificial hearts that feel more like their own, creating new hope for individuals with severe heart disease.

“Joining engineering with natural biology lets us move closer to artificial hearts that truly blend in with the body,” said Maziar Arfaee.

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Amsterdam UMC