Ventricular assist device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016000983-A1
Application number	US-201414324727-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 7, 2014
Priority date	Jul 7, 2014
Publication date	Jan 7, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention relates to a ventricular assist device for intraventricular placement inside a human heart including an anchor element configured to be mounted to the heart in the region of the apex; and a pump connected to the anchor element comprising a preferably tubular housing having an intraventricular inlet and an intraventricular outlet and further comprising a drive for driving a rotor arranged within the housing, thereby providing pulsatile flow acceleration in the left ventricle synchronized with the heart beat and according to volume requirements in the left ventricle.

First claim

1 . A ventricular assist device for intraventricular placement inside a human heart comprising:
an anchor element configured to be mounted to the heart in the region of the apex, a pump connected to the anchor element and comprising a preferably tubular housing having an inlet and an outlet and further comprising drive for driving a rotor arranged within the housing, a control unit connected with the drive for controlling the pump, said control unit comprising a first sensor for sensing a heartbeat of the heart and configured to control the pump to be driven in a pulsatile manner in synchronization with the heart beats.

2 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the inlet and the outlet of the housing are configured for arrangement within the ventricle.

3 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the pump comprises a magnetic coupling for coupling the drive to the rotor.

4 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the drive is at least partially arranged proximally of the anchor element so as to be placed at least partially outside of the heart when in use.

5 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to control the rotational speed of the pump rotor as a function of heart rate signals derived from the first sensor.

6 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit comprises at least a further sensor for sensing a blood pressure, a cardiac output, a blood flow velocity, a derivative of the blood pressure and/or a pulse wave velocity and is configured to control the rotational speed of the pump rotor as a function of the signals derived from the further sensor.

7 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit comprises a memory for storing at least one characteristic curve representing a set value for a blood pressure as a function of the heart rate.

8 . The assist device of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to calculate a pressure difference of a blood pressure derived from the further sensor and a set value for the blood pressure derived from the characteristic curve and to control the rotational speed of the pump rotor as a function of said pressure difference.

9 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein a flow cross-section of the pump continuously decreases in a flow direction at the outflow end of the pump housing so as to form a nozzle able to direct the flow towards the aortic valve and entraining surrounding blood.

10 . The assist device of claim 1 , wherein an end region of the pump housing is percutaneously adjustable to adjust the flow direction of blood exiting the pump towards the aortic valve.

11 . The assist device of claim 10 , wherein the adjustable end region comprises an ultrasound sensor for sensing a blood flow, the sensor signal being used for periodically adjusting the orientation of the adjustable end region of the pump housing to be oriented towards the aortic valve.

12 . The assist device of claim 10 , wherein the adjustable end region cooperates with fixing means to fix the end region in the adjusted position.

13 . A method for assisting blood flow in the cardiovascular system of a human, in particular for increasing the cardiac output of a human, comprising placing a pump inside the left ventricle of a human heart, the pump sucking in blood within the left ventricle and ejecting blood within the left ventricle thereby producing a blood flow that is directed to the aortic valve.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the pump sucks in the blood from the apex region of the left ventricle.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising producing a pulsatile blood flow that is synchronized with the heartbeat.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising driving the pump from outside the heart.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the pump sucks in blood from a region near the apex of the left ventricule in which the blood coming into the left ventricle via the mitral valve swirls in a vortex.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein driving the pump includes using an electric or pneumatic motor that is arranged outside the heart and coupled to the pump by a coupling traversing the cardiac wall.

Assignees

• Mohl Werner
• Univ Wien Tech

Inventors

• Mohl Werner
• Gföhler Margit
• Janeczek Christoph
• Willinger Reinhard

Classifications

• A61M60/812

  Vanes or blades, e.g. static flow guides · CPC title

• A61M60/211

  using a jet, venturi or entrainment effect for pumping the blood · CPC title

• A61M60/531 Primary

  using blood pressure data, e.g. from blood pressure sensors · CPC title

• A61M1/1086 Primary

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A61M1/127

  Human Necessities · mapped topic