Intravascular pump
An intravascular bi-directional pump is disclosed which is adapted to be located in the upper aorta, whereby it can assist the left ventricle to eject in the forward direction during systole, so as to off-load the heart, and also pump an adequate amount in the reverse direction, during diastole, to secure coronary flow.
This invention relates to heart pumps, and in particular, to an intravascular pump which can be used to assist the operation of a patient's heart, when it is in a weak condition.
Various types of intravascular heart pumps are known, but these generally require major surgery, to enable them to be suitably located in an appropriate position in the heart. The present invention seeks to introduce a heart pump which is capable of providing significant assistance to the heart, whilst reducing the degree of invasive surgery required to introduce it into the operative position.
The present invention provides an intravascular bi-directional pump which is adapted to be located in the upper aorta, whereby it can assist the left ventricle to eject in the forward direction during systole, so as to off-load the heart, and also pump an adequate amount in the reverse direction, during diastole to secure coronary flow.
Preferably, the pump is placed either in the ascending aorta, just distal to the aortic valve leaflets, or in the upper descending aorta.
Preferably the pump is mounted (hung) into a stent that can be deployed by means of a balloon. The latter can be withdrawn after the stent has been established in situ. Both the stent and the pump attached to it will then remain inside the aorta.
The pump may be inserted by either
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- 1. Surgically slitting the aorta at the preferred position (see above) and placing the pump.
- 2. Inserting the pump subcutaneously from the groin or lower abdomen, and advancing it into the aorta until it reaches the preferred position.
Various type of pumps may be utilised to provide the functions required, such as centrifugal, positive displacement or axial.
The pump may be powered by a direct connection, such as a wire running through the aortic wall and the skin, and connected to an outside battery, or alternatively by means of a wireless connection, for example using induction coils.
Some embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring firstly to
Similarly,
In the case of the
Alternatively, by adding a suitably oriented additional inlet/outlet duct to the simple centrifugal pump casing of
The pump can be powered either by:
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- 1. Wireless power transmission, where the required power needed is transferred to the rotor wirelessly from outside the body by means of coils placed on the skin, or
- 2. Using a wire that runs through the aortic wall and the skin to be connected to an outside-the-body battery that can be charged/replaced or disconnected.
In order to allow the pump to be removed from the body in case of malfunction, it may be detachably mounted on the stent as illustrated in the cross-sectional views of
Claims
1. An intravascular bi-directional pump which is adapted to be located in the upper aorta, whereby it can assist the left ventricle to eject in the forward direction during systole, so as to off-load the heart, and also pump an adequate amount in the reverse direction, during diastole, to secure coronary flow.
2. An intravascular bi-directional pump according to claim 1 which is adapted to be placed either in the ascending aorta, just distal to the aortic valve leaflets, or in the upper descending aorta.
3. An intravascular bi-directional pump according to claim 1 which is adapted to be mounted into a stent.
4. An intravascular bi-directional pump according to claim 1 in which the pump is a centrifugal pump, a positive placement pump or an axial flow pump.
5. A method of assisting coronary flow comprising placing a bi-directional pump in the ascending aorta, just distal to the aortic valve leaflets, or in the descending aorta.
6. A method according to claim 5 in which the pump is inserted from the groin or the lower abdomen, and advanced into the aorta until it reaches the required position.
7. A method according to claim 5 in which the pump is placed in position by slitting the aorta at a suitable position.
8. A method according to claim 3 in which the pump is mounted onto a stent by means of a releasable attachment mechanism so that the pump can be detached and pulled out of the body should it become faulty.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 30, 2002
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2005
Inventors: Michael Henein (London), Ashraf Khir (Middlesex)
Application Number: 10/500,614