Method and apparatus for pumping blood within a vessel

Abstract

A dynamically augmenting pump system incorporates a sealed liquid-filled catheter which is inserted into a vessel such as an artery, and the pump system is operated in timed relation with the heart to aid the heart during episodes of impairment or failure of cardiac function by producing higher frequency pulsation or pressure waves within the blood during diastole and during the isometric contraction period of the heart. This frequency of pulsation is adjusted to the dynamic transmission characteristics of a selected circulatory subsystem, such as the coronary vascular system, to assure the transmission of a maximum of pulsatile energy into the subsystem. The catheter provides energy to maintain adequate blood flow through the healthy part of the myocardium and has a passage for injecting successive quantities of medication into the coronary arteries. The pump system also functions to penetrate the ischemic myocardial tissue with arterial blood and medication. The pump system may also be used to provide enhanced perfusion for other parts of the systemic circulatory system, for example, to prevent such detrimental effects as renal failure. Any one or combination of the functions may be used depending on the special medical conditions of the patient.

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