Patent ID: 7811318

Claim:
A pulsatile pneumatic driver configured to provide pneumatic power to an implantable artificial heart, the driver comprising: a first compressor that includes a first pair of compression chambers, at least one of the first pair of compression chambers having a swept volume that is at least 160 cubic centimeters; a second compressor that includes a second pair of compression chambers, at least one of the second pair of compression chambers having a swept volume that is at least 160 cubic centimeters; a first air outlet and a second air outlet in selective communication with two or more compression chambers of the first and second pair of compression chambers; and a valve that is movable between a normal operation position associated with a normal mode of operation of the driver, a first backup position associated with a first backup mode of operation of the driver and a second backup position associated with a second backup mode of operation of the driver; wherein when in the normal mode of operation, the first air outlet is in fluid communication with one of the first pair of compression chambers and the second air outlet is in fluid communication with one of the second pair of compression chambers; wherein when in the first backup mode of operation, the first air outlet is in fluid communication with one of the first pair of compression chambers and the second air outlet is in fluid communication with another of the first pair of compression chambers; and wherein when in the second backup mode of operation, the first air outlet is in fluid communication with one of the second pair of compression chambers and the second air outlet is in fluid communication with another of the second pair of compression chambers.