Collapsible artificial ventricle and pumping shell

An artificial ventricle for use as part of a total artificial heat for implantation within a living being as part of its circulatory system, said ventricle comprising:

• a soft and flexible blood pumping sac having extended (diastolic) and contracted (systolic) configurations and wall structure sufficient in size to develop adequate stroke volume for sustaining life within the living being, said blood sac having sufficient flexibility to collapse to a substantially flattened, squeezed or rolled up soft structure of reduced size to facilitate surgical implantation within restricted space of the chest cavity of the living being;
• an inlet port positioned within the wall structure and having means for attachment to the atrium or other soft tissue of the circulatory system to form a continuous flow line therewith, said inlet port including means for receiving a one-way valve;
• an outlet port positioned within the wall structure and having means for attachment to the aorta, pulmonary artery or other soft tissue of the circulatory system to form a continuous flow line therewith, said outlet port including means for receiving a one-way valve;
• a semi-rigid shell structurally separable from the blood pumping sac and having closure means for developing closed and open configurations respectively permitting insertion around and removal from the blood pumping sac in situ with the circulatory system;
• said shell comprising two shell components which are configured to join at each shell periphery to form a closed configuration;
• said closure means including a connecting hinge element disposed at one edge of the joining peripheries to form a clamshell configuration capable of opening to permit insertion of the blood sac and enclosing around the blood sac to form a confining shell structure to limit expansion and displacement of the blood sac in response to operation of a pumping means;
• said closure means and shell providing a closed shell configuration slightly larger in shape and size at an interior surface than the extended configuration of the wall structure of the blood pumping sac and being structured to totally enclose the sac;
• said shell including an opening for the inlet and outlet ports and sealing means to provide a circumferential seal at respective junctures of the shell with the inlet and outlet ports;
• said closure means and shell further providing an open configuration enabling insertion of the contracted sac through a shell opening and removal of the shell from around the sac without affecting attachment of the sac as part of the circulatory system;
• and
• pumping means coupled through the rigid shell to enable alternating extension and collapse of the blood pumping sac in recurring pumping manner when the shell is in the closed configuration to allow inflow and expulsion of blood from the blood sac.