Patent ID: 7798815
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: G09B

Abstract:
1. A method of simulating a beating heart in a mock chest cavity in an operating room environment for training a trainee surgeon for cardiac surgical techniques, comprising: providing a simulator heart in the mock chest cavity, the simulator heart including a preserved porcine heart with at least one balloon being inserted therein; providing a pumping system connected to the at least one balloon, the pumping system being operative to inflate and deflate the at least one balloon and with the at least one balloon being disposed in a ventricular cavity of the preserved porcine heart to stimulate heartbeats in the simulator heart and the pumping system further being connected to the simulator heart to circulate fluid through the simulator heart during at least a time when heartbeats are stimulated, wherein the pumping system includes a pulsatile pump for pumping the simulator heart in a rhythm manner to simulate a heartbeat, an infusion pump to pump fluid to the simulator heart to simulate coronary perfusion, and a suction pump to remove fluid from the chest cavity; and providing a control computer, the control computer being connected to the pumping system: the control computer for controlling and managing a pumping system and thereby the simulator heart.