Determine whether TCPAs can meet cardiac pumping requirements

Determine whether twisted-and-coiled polymer actuators (TCPAs) possess the stroke and force capabilities required to drive heart pumping.

Background

Twisted-and-coiled polymer actuators (TCPAs) are presented as promising artificial muscles for soft robotic cardiovascular systems because of their contractile motion, power density, scalability, and compliance. However, the paper notes that conventional actuator characterizations primarily measure stroke under constant loads or cyclic endurance and therefore do not fully capture the force and displacement demands of cardiac operation, particularly during isovolumetric contraction and relaxation. Establishing whether TCPAs can provide the required stroke and force is necessary for selecting suitable actuators and designing soft ventricular pumps that reproduce physiological pressure–volume behavior.