Artificial heart and method of pumping blood

Apparatus adapted for use in a prosthetic heart, comprising:

• (a) a firm and cylindrical chamber formed of non-magnetic material, and the chamber being adapted for replacing the atrium and ventricle functions of a portion of a human heart, with said chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port at each end;
• (b) a check valve in each of said inlet and outlet ports in said chamber;
• and
• (c) a ball movable within the cylindrical chamber for causing blood to be pumped through respective ones of the inlet and outlet ports;
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• (d) a set of structural members mounted within the cylindrical chamber and being adapted for holding a ball away from the interior wall of the chamber as the ball rolls within said chamber.

Apparatus adapted for use in a prosthetic heart, comprising:

• (a) a rigid and cylindrical chamber adapted for replacing the atrium and ventricle functions of a portion of a human heart, and said chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port at each end, and there being a check valve in each of said inlet and outlet ports, and there also being electric coils adjacent each end of the cylinder for creating a magnetic field when current flows therethrough;
• (b) a free-floating ball contained within the cylinder, with said ball having characteristics such that it is attracted by the magnetic field resulting from current flowing through the electrical coils, and the outside diameter of a ball being significantly less than the inside diameter of the cylinder so as to foster at least some reverse flow of blood around the ball in order to promote cleaning and clearing of the cylinder and the ball;
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• (c) electrical means for passing current alternately through the electric coils so as to cause the ball to oscillate between the two ends of the chamber.

A prosthetic heart adapted to accomplish the functions of a natural heart, comprising:

• (a) first and second rigid and cylindrical chambers for replacing the atrium and ventricle functions in a human heart, and each of said chambers having two spaced inlet ports and two spaced outlet ports, with one of each type of port being on each end of a respective chamber, and there being a check valve in each of said inlet and outlet ports, and there also being a pair of side-by-side coils surrounding each cylinder, with each coil being configured to create a wide magnetic field when current flows therethrough, with one of the chambers being adapted to pump blood to the body circuit and the other chamber being adapted to pump blood to the lung circuit, and each chamber being adapted to receive blood from the opposite circuit through its respective inlet ports;
• (b) a free-floating ball contained within each of the two cylinders, with each ball having physical properties such that it is attracted by the magnetic field resulting from current flowing through the electrical coils surrounding the cylinders, and the outside diameter of a ball being sufficiently less than the inside diameter of its associated cylinder so as to foster some reverse flow of blood in order to promote cleaning and clearing of the cylinder and the ball;
• (c) electrical circuitry for alternately energizing first one and then the other of a pair of coils on each chamber, such that a ball will be alternately attracted toward one end and then the other end of a given cylinder, whereby blood ahead of a moving ball will be displaced;
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• (d) means for energizing said electrical circuitry.