US 5,176,153 A · Heart chamber simulator with electronic accelerated heart valve wear and fatigue test apparatus and method

Abstract

An accelerated wear and fatigue tester for replacement human heart valves includes a fluid which is caused to pulse the heart valve by a pressure generator utilizing a coil secured to a flexible diaphragm in contact with the fluid. The coil is subjected to a magnetic field and a signal selected from pulsed, sinusoidal, or random pulses and/or a DC offset, or a recorded signal from a human heart, such that the magnetic interaction selectively pulses the diaphragm and replacement heart valve to simulate heart action. A plurality of pressure generators with differing signals, including phase differences, may be provided to simulate arrhythmia in a heartbeat, and a library of recordings may be used as a database to predict irregularities in replacement heart valves.

Claims35

Dependent claims

An in vitro tester for fluid valves used as replacements in the human heart comprising:

means to mount in vitro a human heart replacement valve;
a fluid source providing a means fluid pressure and fluid flow;
fluid conductors to connect said fluid source to said heart valve for pulsed actuation of said heart valve;
and
a pressure generator to apply a periodic pulsed pressure to said fluid to cause said pulsed actuation;
said pressure generator including:
a diaphragm in contact with said fluid;
a coil secured to said diaphragm;
means to generate a first magnetic field about said coil;
and
means to selectively apply a plurality of different types of signals to cause current flow through said coil of said pressure generator;
said current flow generating an electromagnetic field which interacts with said first magnetic field to move said diaphragm against said fluid to provide pressure pulses to said fluid in response to said current flow causing actuation of said heart valve responsive to said current flow;
whereby variable control of actuation of said human heart replacement valves can be provided in vitro to more closely simulate various heart pumping actions, including abnormal conditions and accelerated pumping action.

10 more elements

A method of in vitro testing replacement heart valves of the type implanted in the human heart comprising:

mounting said replacement heart valve in a fluid;
said fluid having a mean fluid pressure and flow;
providing a heart valve actuator including a flexible diaphragm in contact with said fluid, and a coil assembly connected to said diaphragm and magnetically coupled to an associated magnet field;
periodically energizing said coil with an electrical pulsed signal selected from the group consisting of sinusoidal, triangular, square and random electrical pulses, and a recording of an actual human heart to cause said coil and diaphragm to move in said magnetic field;
movement of said diaphragm applying pressure to said fluid and against said replacement heart valve to actuate said replacement heart valve in response to said signal;
recording the response of said replacement heart valve to said electrical signal to provide a response database which includes responses of said replacement heart valve in advance of irregularities occurring in said heart valve;
monitoring the heart action of a person having an implanted heart valve to provide implanted heart performance data;
and
comparing said implanted heart performance data and said response database to detect similarities which may indicate potential irregularities in said implanted heart valve.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Heart chamber simulator with electronic accelerated heart valve wear and fatigue test apparatus and method

Life of this patent

Heart chamber simulator with electronic accelerated heart valve wear and fatigue test apparatus and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims35