Abstract:
A biventricular cardiac prosthesis has a flow balance control system to balance blood flow through the left and right sides of the prosthesis to maintain a patient's left atrial pressure within physiologic bounds. The prosthesis can be configured to have flow characteristics so that a signal representative of the difference in hydraulic pumping pressures on the left and right sides of the prosthesis is representative of the difference between left and right atrial pressures of a patient having the prosthesis implanted. This signal can be used as a control signal to drive the prosthesis so that left atrial pressure is approximately equal to right atrial pressure, and within physiologic bounds. A specific prosthesis includes left and right pumping sections, each having a blood pumping chamber and a hydraulic fluid chamber, with a reciprocating hydraulic pump driving systole alternately on the right and left sides. A hydraulic balance chamber is hydraulically coupled to the right hydraulic fluid chamber and an adjustable occluder varies flow resistance through the hydraulic coupling. The occluder can be adjusted based on the control signal to adjustably derate right side blood flow to achieve the desired pressure balance, or the occluder can be adjusted based on fluid communication with sources of pressure in the prosthesis that are representative of right and left atrial pressures.
Abstract:
A hydraulic system and method for supporting a body organ, the system comprising a closed loop liquid-tight tubing fitted with a pressure generator (20) for propelling a liquid through the system, an organ engaging member (40) connected to a pressure chamber (30) via a discharge valve (34) for controlled discharge of liquid into the organ inflatable pressure member. The organ engaging member comprises an inflatable pressure member (46) suited for receiving the organ. There is further provided at least one control valve for selectively controlling liquid flow through the system and a controller (c) for selectively controlling the discharge valve and the at least one control valve.The system may be used as cardiac assist device or for massaging a limb to stimulate blood flow therethrough.
Abstract:
A blood circulation assistance device (1), for location around a blood conduit (20). The device comprises: an inflatable bladder (10) moveable between a contracted form and an expanded form, for compressing the blood conduit (20) to provide counterpulsation. Pump means (30) in fluid communication with the bladder (10) move the bladder (10) from the contracted form to the expanded form. The pump means (30) comprises a centrifugal impeller (62) rotatable about an axis (61) to effect pumping. The impeller (62) is moveable axially between first and second positions to effect a reversal of the direction of pumping. Control means (50), in communication with the pump means, is capable of monitoring the cardiac cycle of an individual and triggering the pump means (30) to move the bladder (10) to the expanded form at diastole. An outer cuff, surrounds at least a portion of the bladder (10), providing an outer limiting extent to the movement of the bladder (10).
Abstract:
Blood purification apparatus comprises a dead-end system in which blood from the patient is allowed to flow through one or more purification modules (4), such as a dialyser, a haemofilter, a haemoperfusion column and an oxygenator, into a resiliently walled reservoir (6), which is conveniently a standard blood bag. The direction of flow of the blood is then reversed by exertion of sufficient pressure on the bag (6) to push the blood back through the purification module (4) to the patient's circulation. Thus, since the reservoir is of variable capacity, being of resilient material for example, the capacity of the apparatus remains equal to the volume of extra-corporeal blood.
Abstract:
A blood pump comprising a cartridge, the cartridge comprising a first recess therein, said first recess having a surface, and a flexible diaphragm closing said first recess, the first recess and the flexible diaphragm defining a first pump chamber, said first pump chamber having an inlet and an outlet wherein the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber is movable between a first position, separated in use from the surface of the first recess, in which said first pump chamber has a maximum volume, and a second position, substantially adjacent to the surface of the first recess, in which said first pump chamber has a minimum volume a pump driver arranged to interface with the cartridge, said pump driver operable to move the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber in a first direction into said first recess to, in use, pump blood from the chamber and to move the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber in a second direction away from the first recess to, in use, draw blood into said first pump chamber, wherein the pump driver controls the movement of the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber such that the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber moves toward said first position at a first speed and moves toward said second position at a second speed, said second speed being greater than said first speed.
Abstract:
A method of optimizing a mechanical cardiac pumping device includes modeling the circulatory system of the patient who will receive the mechanical cardiac pumping device and identifying an operating condition of the native heart to which the device will respond. The model is used to determine the required blood volume to be ejected from the device and an initial estimate of the power required to be provided to the mechanical cardiac pumping device is provided in order to provide the required ejected blood volume. The resultant ejected blood volume is evaluated with data obtained from the model and the estimate of the power requirement is then updated. The above steps are iteratively performed until the power required to obtain the necessary ejected blood volume is identified. Possible variations of power and pumping rate that allow the mechanical cardiac pumping device to provide the required volume are determined and the variation that best matches the physiological constraints of the patient and minimizes the power required by the mechanical cardiac pumping device is selected. The steps are iteratively performed until the mechanical cardiac pumping device is optimized to respond to each desired operating condition of the native heart.
Abstract:
The invention is directed to a unified system (1) for an electrohydraulic ventricular assist device adapted for implantation in the thorax and for cannulation to the blood circulatory system comprising an internal electronic controller (3) for generating an actuating signal actuating means for converting the actuating signal into a back and forth rhythmic displacement of a fluid, a blood pumping chamber (15) having an inflow blood port (19) and an outflow blood port (21) for converting the back and forth displacement of the fluid into a rhythmic unidirectional displacement of blood through the inflow and outflow ports (19, 21), hermetic coupling means (49) for supplying the internal electronic controller (3) with a supply voltage (45), detecting means (9) for generating the actuating signal in response to the status of the blood pumping chamber (15), a volume displacement chamber (VDC) acting as a reservoir for the back and forth rhythmic displacement of a fluid, and a support with a surface curvature compatible with the internal human sagittal and transverse chest wall curvatures for supporting the internal electronic controller (3), the actuating means (11), the blood pumping chamber (15), the hermetic coupling means (49) and the detecting means (9) in a compact structure with the blood pumping chamber (15) arranged with the inflow and outflow ports (19, 21) oriented away from the support and the structure with an overall size that when the unified system (1) is placed within the human thorax with the support surface adjacent the chest wall, the structure does not adversely compress adjacent organs.
Abstract:
Die Erfindung betrifft eine Herzunterstützungsvorrichtung zur pulsatilen Förderung von Blut (12) mit einem ersten (14) und einem zweiten (16) Ventrikel und einer Pumpe (18). Beide Ventrikel (14, 16) weisen jeweils eine Fluidkammer (14a, 16a) und eine blutführende Kammer (14b, 16b) auf, wobei jede Fluidkammer (14a, 16a) durch die Pumpe (18) mit einem Fluid (20) derart befullbar oder entleerbar ist, dass eine Expansion oder eine Kontraktion der Fluidkammer (14a, 16a) erfolgt. Bei der Expansion der Fluidkammer (14a) eines Ventrikels (14) erfolgt eine Kompression der blutführenden Kammer (14b) des selben Ventrikels, wobei zwischen einer Fluidkammer (14a, 16a) und der jeweiligen blutführenden Kammer ( 16a, 16b) eine in Richtung der jeweiligen blutführenden Kammer (14b, 16b) verschiebbare steife Druckplatte (24) angeordnet ist.
Abstract:
Systems and methods of supplementing blood flow from the heart of a patient (10) involving superficial, non-invasive procedures. In one general method, a first conduit (20) is directed into the left side of the heart, a second conduit (24) is directed into a superficial vessel (26) and a pump (16) is connected between the first and second conduits (20, 24). The pump (16) is implanted superficially in the patient (10) and a power supply (18) is connected to the pump (16). Blood is then suctioned from the left side of the patient's heart through the first conduit (20) into the pump (16) and expelled from the pump (16) into the second conduit (24) and the superficial vessel (26). A transcutaneous power supply (18) is disclosed in one aspect and includes an external portion with a connection and alignment feature to assure transmission of power.
Abstract:
A heart assist device (10) adapted for implantation into a patient (99). The device (10) includes an aortic compression means (60) adapted, when actuated, to compress an aorta (15) of a patient (99), a fluid reservoir (74) and a pump means (71) adapted to pump a fluid from the fluid reservoir (74) to the aortic compression means (60) so as to actuate the aortic compression means (60) at least partly in counterpulsation with the patient's heart. The fluid reservoir (74) is adapted to be wholly positioned within the chest cavity of the patient (99).