A silver-cadmium (Ag-Cd) battery is proposed for the ventricular assist system (VAS). Silver-cadmium is like the silver-zinc electrochemical system, the differences being in increased cycle life and lower energy density. It has higher specific energy and charge efficiency than the nickel-cadmium battery and performs well at 37 degrees C. Commercial availability of silver-cadmium is limited to vented type cells. A sealed silver-cadmium battery has not been developed. The major disadvantages of Ag-Cd are the high cost and lower cycle life compared to Ni-Cd. The proposed work plan consists of three tasks. The first task consists in evaluating new electrolyte compositions which reduce the solubility of silver oxide and thereby improving its stability. The second task is devoted to evaluating inorganic type separators and the third is the integration of all the improvements to fabricate experimental Ag-Cd cells.
