Publications

Engineers at EPFL’s Center for Artificial Muscles have developed a silicone aorta that can reduce how hard patients’ hearts have to pump. We demonstrate that the right activation leads to an optimal assistance of the heart with a maximum energy provided by the DEA. The end-diastolic and left ventricular pressures were lowered by up to 5% and 1%, respectively, compared to baseline. The early diastolic pressure was augmented in average by up to 2%. This research was carried out under a joint initiative by ETH Zurich, the University of Bern and EPFL.

2023

Journal Articles

Dielectric Elastomer Actuator-Based Valveless Impedance-Driven Pumping for Meso- and Macroscale Applications

A. Benouhiba; A. Walter; S. E. Jahren; T. Martinez; F. Clavica et al. 

Soft Robotics. 2023-09-20. DOI : 10.1089/soro.2022.0244.

Hemodynamic effects of a dielectric elastomer augmented aorta on aortic wave intensity: An in-vivo study

S. E. Jahren; T. G. Martinez; A. M. Walter; L. Ferrari; F. Clavica et al. 

Journal of Biomechanics. 2023-08-25. Vol. 159. DOI : 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111777.

Real-time actuation of a dielectric elastomer actuator neuroprosthesis for facial paralysis

S. M. A. Konstantinidi; C. Imholz; T. G. Martinez; A. Benouhiba; A. M. Walter et al. 

Smart Materials in Medicine. 2023-06-21. Vol. 5, num. (2024), p. 15-23. DOI : 10.1016/j.smaim.2023.06.003.

2022

Journal Articles

A novel soft cardiac assist device based on a dielectric elastomer augmented aorta: An in vivo study

T. G. Martinez; S. E. Jahren; A. M. Walter; J. Chavanne; F. Clavica et al. 

Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. 2022-08-22. Vol. 8, num. Issue 2, p. 1-15, e10396. DOI : 10.1002/btm2.10396.

Adaptation of a solid-state-Marx modulator for electroactive polymer

M. Almanza; T. G. Martinez; M. Petit; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard et al. 

IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2022-06-16. Vol. 37, num. 11, p. 13014-13021. DOI : 10.1109/TPEL.2022.3183437.

Control-oriented modeling and analysis of tubular dielectric elastomer actuators dedicated to cardiac assist devices

N. Liu; T. G. Martinez; A. M. Walter; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 2022-04-01. Vol. 7, num. 2, p. 4361-4367. DOI : 10.1109/LRA.2022.3148981.

Conference Papers

Characterization of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators: A Design of Experiments Approach

Q. P. M. De Menech; S. M. A. Konstantinidi; A. M. Walter; P. Mohaghegh; T. G. Martinez et al. 

2022-12-21. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9983027.

Study of the use of silver trace and improved flexibility in rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2022-12-21. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9983288.

Influence of Axial Pre-stretch on Tubular Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. Benouhiba; A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2022-12-21. 2022 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9982925.

Theses

Ultra-high voltage, low power and energy recovering electronics for dielectric elastomer actuators

R. J. C. Mottet / Y. Perriard; A. Boegli (Dir.)  

Lausanne, EPFL, 2022. 

2021

Journal Articles

Evaluation of dielectric elastomers to develop materials suitable for actuation

P. Banet; N. Zeggai; J. Chavanne; G. T. M. Nguyen; L. Chikh et al. 

Soft Matter, 2021. 2021-11-15. Vol. 17, p. 10786 – 10805. DOI : 10.1039/d1sm00621e.

Design and modelling of a tubular dielectric elastomer actuator with constrained radial displacement as a cardiac assist device

T. Martinez; J. Chavanne; A. Walter; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

Smart Materials And Structures. 2021-10-01. Vol. 30, num. 10, p. 105024. DOI : 10.1088/1361-665X/ac1fa8.

Ultra-High-Voltage (7-kV) Bidirectional Flyback Converter Used to Drive Capacitive Actuators

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; L. Pniak; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

Ieee Transactions On Industry Applications. 2021-09-01. Vol. 57, num. 5, p. 5145-5156. DOI : 10.1109/TIA.2021.3094460.

Feasibility of a Dielectric Elastomer Augmented Aorta

M. Almanza; F. Clavica; J. Chavanne; D. Moser; D. Obrist et al. 

Advanced Science. 2021-01-25. Vol. 8, num. 6, p. 2001974. DOI : 10.1002/advs.202001974.

Conference Papers

DEA Self-discharge Characterization for Low Duty Cycle Applications

S. Konstantinidi; T. Martinez; R. Mottet; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021-12-17. 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 781-784. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634539.

Schmitt trigger-based control strategy for the discharge phase of an ultra-high-voltage bidirectional flyback

R. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2021-12-17. 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS 2021)), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 232-235. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634195.

Improved Electrical Behavior of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

A. M. Walter; T. G. Martinez; J. Chavanne; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021-12-17. 2021 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 95-98. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634203.

A Cockcroft-Walton generator driven by wireless power transfer for implanted high-voltage generation

T. G. Martinez; M. Almanza; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021-12-17. 2021 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, Republic of Korea (hybrid), October 31 – November 3, 2021. p. 243-246. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634392.

An Analytical Model for the Prediction of the Maximum Output Voltage Reachable with an Ultra-high Voltage Flyback Converter Driving Capacitive Actuators

R. J. C. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2021-10-25. 23rd European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE’21 ECCE Europe), Ghent, Belgium (virtual), September 6-10, 2021. DOI : 10.23919/EPE21ECCEEurope50061.2021.9570422.

Energy Analysis of a Cardiac Assist Device based on Dielectric Elastomer Actuator through an Equivalent Electrical Circuit

J. Chavanne; F. Clavica; T. Martinez; Y. Civet; D. Obrist et al. 

2021-01-01. IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), ELECTR NETWORK, Jul 12-16, 2021. p. 346-352. DOI : 10.1109/AIM46487.2021.9517705.

Redefining Energy Density for an uniaxial Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2021-01-01. IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), ELECTR NETWORK, Jul 12-16, 2021. p. 1113-1118. DOI : 10.1109/AIM46487.2021.9517512.

Posters

Ultra-high voltage, compact and energy recovering electronics for dielectric elastomer actuators

R. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

10th International conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles (EuroEAP 2021), Linköping, Sweden (online), June 1-3, 2021.

Patents

Stretchable tubular device and use thereof as a counterpulsation device

Y. Civet; Y. Perriard; J. Chavanne; T. G. Martinez; M. Almanza 

US2023166097; EP4143896; WO2021220087; EP3903847.

2021.

Dielectric elastomer actuator

Y. Perriard; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; M. Almanza 

US2022393098; EP4052309; WO2021084503.

2021.

2020

Journal Articles

Untethered Feel‐Through Haptics Using 18‐µm Thick Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

X. Ji; X. Liu; V. Cacucciolo; Y. R. C. Civet; A. El Haitami et al. 

Advanced Functional Materials. 2020-10-07. Vol. 30, num. 41, p. 1-10, 2006639. DOI : 10.1002/adfm.202006639.

Ultra High Voltage Switch for Bidirectional DC-DC Converter Driving Dielectric Elastomer Actuator

L. Pniak; M. Almanza; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2020-05-15. Vol. 35, num. 12, p. 13172-13181. DOI : 10.1109/TPEL.2020.2995047.

Towards the material limit and field concentration smoothing in multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators

M. Almanza; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

Smart Materials And Structures. 2020-04-01. Vol. 29, num. 4, p. 045044. DOI : 10.1088/1361-665X/ab72e7.

Conference Papers

Control Strategy for the Discharge Phase of an Ultra-High Voltage (>7kV) Bi-Directional Flyback Converter Driving Capacitive Actuators

R. J. C. Mottet; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2020-12-22. ICEMS 2020 – The 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. p. 1326-1330. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290814.

Identification of material parameters of a tubular dielectric elastomer actuator for a cardiac assist device

T. G. Martinez; J. Chavanne; Y. R. C. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2020. ICEMS – 23rd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290821.

Manufacturing and Tests of a Tubular Multilayer Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for an Impedance Pump

J. Chavanne; J. Haenni; T. G. Martinez; D. Moser; A. M. Walter et al. 

2020. ICEMS – International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu, Japan, November 24-27, 2020. p. 380-383. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290904.

2019

Journal Articles

An autonomous untethered fast soft robotic insect driven by low-voltage dielectric elastomer actuators

X. Ji; X. Liu; V. Cacucciolo; M. Imboden; Y. Civet et al. 

Science Robotics. 2019-12-18. Vol. 4, num. 37, p. eaaz6451. DOI : 10.1126/scirobotics.aaz6451.

Conference Papers

Characterization of a radial cylindrical spring using an electromechanical test bench

V. Mottier; D. Moser; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 2019 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Hong Kong, China, July 8-12, 2019. DOI : 10.1109/AIM.2019.8868897.

Towards an ultra-high voltage gain, compact, and energy recovering Flyback DC/DC Converter

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Drastic breakdown field reduction in multilayer DEA

M. Almanza; J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Multi-level high-voltage power supply for dea application

L. Depreux; L. Pniak; M. Almanza; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

High voltage switch for compact bidirectional dc-dc converter driving dielectric electroactive polymer actuators

L. Pniak; M. Almanza; R. Mottet; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2019. 9th international conference on Electromechanically Active Polymer (EAP) transducers & artificial muscles, Dresden, Germany, June 4-6, 2019.

Critical Parasitic Elements of Coupled Inductors for Ultra-High Voltage Flyback Converters Used to Drive Capacitive Actuators

R. Mottet; M. Almanza; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2019. The 22nd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems – ICEMS 2019, Harbin, China, August 11-14, 2019. p. 3476-3480. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS.2019.8921772.

Development of a biologically inspired in-vitro platform for long-term assessment of commercial and innovative ureteral stents

F. Clavica; S. Zheng; D. Carugo; A. Mosayyebi; S. Waters et al. 

2019. Incontinence: the Engineering Challenge XII, London, Great Britain, November 13-14, 2019.

Impedance pumping as a non-invasive treatment for underactive bladder? An ex-vivo proof-of-concept-study in porcine bladders.

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; F. Burkhard et al. 

2019. Incontinence: The Engineering Challenge XII, London, Great Britain, November 13 – 14, 2019.

Urine-Contactless Device to Empty Bladders: an Ex-Vivo Proof-of-Concept Study in Porcine Bladders

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; F. Burkhard et al. 

2019. The 49th Annual Congress of the International Continence Society (ICS 2019), Gothenburg, Sweden, September 3-6, 2019. p. S44-S45.

Theses

Cylindrical Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Cardiac Assist Device

J. A. J-M. Chavanne / Y. Perriard; Y. R. C. Civet (Dir.)  

Lausanne, EPFL, 2019. 

Posters

To-Pee or not-to-Pee? A Non-invasive, Urine-Contactless Device to Empty Bladders

F. Clavica; J. Roth; M. P. Schneider; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard et al. 

Swiss Medtech Expo, Luzern, Switzerland, September 10-11, 2019.

Patents

Spring with a plurality of elements, and actuator including such a spring

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

EP3716899; US2021361929; EP3716899; WO2019102417.

2019-05-31.

2018

Conference Papers

Design of an Innovative Cylindrical Spring with a Negative Stiffness

J. Chavanne; Y. Civet; Y. Perriard 

2018. The 2018 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Auckland, New Zealand, July 9-12, 2018. p. 557-562. DOI : 10.1109/AIM.2018.8452241.

Electric Charge Transfer Between Cascading Dielectric Electroactive Polymer Actuators

R. Mottet; J. Chavanne; A. Boegli; Y. Perriard 

2018. The 2018 International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Jeju, South Corea, October 7-10, 2018. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS.2018.8549041.