Device to assist the performance of a heart

A system for assisting the blood circulation of a heart in a body, comprising:

• a heart assist pump device deliverable to the heart and comprising:
• an inflow tube defining a blood inflow path and having a suction end insertable into a ventricle of the heart;
• a magnetically driven rotor axially aligned with the inflow tube and being spaced apart from the suction end when the suction end of the inflow tube is inserted into the ventricle, the magnetically driven rotor being rotatable within a surrounding rotor housing to act upon blood flowing from the inflow tube toward the rotor, the magnetically driven rotor being rotatable about a central axis and being rigidly coupled to and axially adjacent to a first magnetic device that is located within the surrounding rotor housing;
• a second magnetic device axially aligned with the inflow tube and positioned to magnetically drive rotation of the magnetically driven rotor via a magneto coupling with the first magnetic device while being spaced apart and sealed from both the magnetically driven rotor and the first magnetic device by at least one sealing wall, the second magnetic device being positioned axially spaced apart from the magnetically driven rotor;
• a blood outflow port positioned radially adjacent the magnetically driven rotor such that blood driven by the magnetically driven rotor is configured to exit the surrounding rotor housing in a direction substantially perpendicular from the blood inflow path and the central axis of the magnetically driven rotor, wherein the magneto coupling orients the magnetically driven rotor so that, in response to rotation of the magnetically driven rotor, the magnetically driven rotor remains adjacent to and spaced apart from the surrounding rotor housing by the blood flowing from the inflow tube and to the blood outflow port;
• and
• an external control unit configured to regulate operation of the second magnetic device, the external control unit being positionable exterior to the body while the inflow tube of the heart assist pump device is in the heart, wherein the external control unit is connectable to the heart assist pump device for controlling the second magnetic device to thereby magnetically drive the rotation of the magnetically driven rotor via the magneto coupling with the first magnetic device.