Dr Meiqi Wang - University of Nottingham

The challenge

Heart failure affects over 64 million people worldwide, including nearly one million people in the UK. Around half of patients die within five years of diagnosis, while donor shortages mean one in five patients die while waiting for a heart transplant. Current implantable solutions, including artificial hearts and assist devices, are mainly used as short-term bridge therapies due to limitations in size, durability, reliability, and long-term operation. A key challenge is the reliance on conventional electrical drives with mechanical bearings, which introduce friction, wear, vibration, and reduced performance.

The research

Dr Meiqi Wang’s research addresses this challenge by developing bearingless electrical drive technology, enabling smaller, safer, and more reliable implantable systems with the potential to support less invasive therapies, improve patient mobility and independence, and advance long-term destination therapy for chronic heart failure. 

The work will develop innovative electromagnetic designs, control strategies, and system integration approaches to eliminate mechanical bearings and overcome limitations associated with friction, wear, vibration, and lifetime. The research aims to demonstrate long-term, high-performance operation of bearingless drives under demanding biomedical conditions, providing a transformative platform for artificial hearts, ventricular assist devices, and minimally invasive surgical technologies. Ultimately, this work seeks to enable safer, more durable, and less invasive healthcare solutions that improve patient outcomes and quality of life. 

The researcher

Dr Wang is a Senior Research Fellow specialising in the development of advanced actuation technologies for future medical devices. Her research focuses on bearingless electrical drives (BEDs), an innovative technology that uses magnetic forces to create contact-free movement, reducing wear and improving reliability compared with conventional systems. Dr Wang leads and co-leads research projects and works closely with industrial partners to translate engineering innovations into practical solutions. Motivated by the need for safer and more effective healthcare technologies, her work aims to develop smaller, more reliable medical devices that can improve patient independence, mobility, and quality of life.