Ventricular assist device for intraventricular placement

A method of installing a ventricular assist device in a mammalian subject comprising:

• (a) providing an anchor element and a pump attached to one another via a rigid elongated member, the rigid elongate member including a proximal and distal end, wherein the anchor element and the pump are positioned remote from one another on the rigid elongate member so that the rigid elongate member maintains the pump in position relative to the anchor element and the anchor element including a spherical socket adapted to engage a spherical ball mounted to the rigid elongate member wherein the anchor element is pivotally mounted to the elongate member;
• (b) mounting the anchor element to the subject so that an inlet of the pump communicates with the left ventricle of the heart;
• and
• (c) positioning an outflow cannula of the pump so that the outflow cannula extends from within the left ventricle through the aortic valve but terminates short of the arch of the aorta.

A method of placing a ventricular assist device at a location inside a heart of a mammalian subject comprising:

• providing an anchor element and a pump connected to a rigid elongate member remote from one another, the pump having an outflow cannula, the anchor element including a spherical socket adapted to engage a spherical ball mounted to the rigid elongate member such that the anchor element is pivotally mounted to the elongate member;
• advancing the pump through a wall in an apex of the subject's heart and into the left ventricle of the subject's heart such that the outflow cannula extends from within the left ventricle through the aortic valve but terminates short of the arch of the aorta;
• and
• mounting the anchor element to the apex of the subject's heart.

A ventricular assist device for intraventricular placement inside a heart of a mammalian subject comprising:

• a ring configured to be mounted adjacent an apex of the patient's heart, the ring including a spherical socket;
• a rigid elongate member having a proximal and distal end and a spherical ball on one of the proximal or distal ends, the spherical ball adapted to engage the spherical socket of the ring wherein the ring is pivotally mounted to the elongate member;
• and
• a pump comprising:
• a housing and an outflow cannula having a tip, the tip having a distal end adapted to project through an aortic valve of the subject's heart but terminate short of an arch of the aorta,
• wherein the ring and the pump are connected to the rigid elongate member remote from one another so that the rigid elongate member maintains the pump in position relative to the ring.