Patent ID: 7618363
Filing Date: 2009-11-17
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
1. A device for implanting onto the heart to assist in the normal contraction of the heart, comprising: a sheet of flexible base material for affixing over a diseased portion of a heart; a plurality of cells operatively associated with said sheet of flexible base material; a system of mechanical linkages operatively associated with said sheet of flexible base material and said plurality of cells such that expansion of said cells causes said mechanical linkages to shorten, thereby causing said sheet of flexible base material to contract; a network of conduits operatively associated with said sheet of base material for transmitting hydraulic fluid to said cells so as to cause them to expand; a sensor to sense the onset of a heart contraction; and a pump responsive to said sensed onset of a heart contraction to deliver hydraulic fluid to said plurality of cells through said network of conduits to cause said cells to expand, thereby causing said sheet of flexible base material to contract.