Heart assist jacket and method of using it
AssigneeAstra Tech AB
InventorStig S. Lundback
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heart assist device for insertion into the thoracic cavity of a patient comprises a double-walled jacket (10) adapted to enclose at least the ventricular portion of the heart (H), at least the inner wall (11) of the jacket being pliable to be able to engage the outer surface of the heart and move together with the walls of the heart, and the interspace (13) between the inner and outer walls of the jacket being closed and filled with a fluid which is easily displaceable within the interspace.
Claims8
A passive heart assist device for insertion into the thoracic cavity of a patient between the thoracic wall and the heart comprising:
- a jacket having relatively moveable, connected inner and outer walls, wherein said inner wall is formed of pliable material and is adapted to fit snugly around at least the ventricular portion of the heart over the left and right ventricles;
- wherein said walls define a fluid-containing innerspace including a left ventricle portion and a right ventricle portion;
- wherein said portions are in fluid communication with one another;
- and means for maintaining a volume of fluid in said innerspace at all times, wherein said fluid is displaceable from one portion to the other in response to movement of one of the ventricles toward said outer wall thereby to enable the stroke volumes of the ventricles to vary as the heart beats.
A method of supporting a patient's heart in vivo comprising the steps of:
- providing a jacket having relatively moveable, connected inner and outer walls, wherein said inner wall is formed of pliable material and is adapted to fit snugly around at least the ventricular portion of the heart over the left and right ventricles;
- wherein said walls define a fluid-containing innerspace including a left ventricle portion and a right ventricle portion;
- wherein said portions are in fluid communication with one another;
- inserting said jacket into the thoracic cavity of a patient between the thoracic wall and the heart such that said left ventricle portion fits over said left ventricle and said right ventricle portions fit over said right ventricle;
- and
- maintaining a volume of fluid in said innerspace at all times, wherein said fluid is displaced from one portion to the other in response to movement of one of the ventricles toward said outer wall with the jacket thus functioning passively to enable the stroke volumes of the ventricles to vary as the hear beats.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.