Engineering researchers at UTS are advancing Australia's position in an international quest to develop the world's first implantable rotary blood pump, following a funding boost of more than $5 million from the Federal Government and industry sources.

Chief researchers Professor Vic Ramsden and Dr Peter Watterson from the UTS Faculty of Engineering and researchers from UTS, CSIRO and the University of New South Wales, are developing a prototype pump in conjunction with major medical technology company Micromedical Industries Limited (MMI).

The Australian team's work is one of several similar projects by researchers around the world including highly funded teams in both the USA and Japan who are attempting to meet the ever-increasing demand for a new heart-assist devise amid a chronic shortage of donor organs.

The successful pump - which is likely to develop in different styles from different teams of researchers around the world - will be used to treat congestive heart failure, a major cause of death in western countries which can only be cured with organ transplantation.

The complexity of engineering in the design of the new pump calls for leading expertise from both engineering and biomedical researchers in a range of areas including project management, motor design, pump and bearing design, control system development, biocompatible coating development, blood compatibility and system integration.

After receiving initial Australian Research Council grants totalling $450,000, MMI will now fast-track the project with a $2.97 million Federal Government grant from the Department of Industry, Science and Tourism - a figure MMI will match.

 Rotary pump has significant potential