Patent ID: 6716189
Filing Date: 2004-04-06
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
A circulatory support system to supplement or temporarily replace the pumping function of a patient's heart to hereby enable a surgeon to perform surgical procedures thereon, comprising:an extracorporeal portable blood flow pump including a pump housing having inlet and outlet ports, a pump member mounted in the pump housing to impart mechanical energy to blood entering the inlet port and to direct the blood through the outlet port, the pump member having a variable output; an inlet cannula connected to the inlet port of the pump housing and having an inlet open end portion defining an ingress path such that when it is inserted within the patient's heart or blood vessel associated with the heart, blood is drawn from the patient through the inlet open end portion of the inlet cannula and directed into the pump housing; an outlet cannula connected to the outlet port of the pump housing and having a lumen and an outlet end portion for insertion within the patient so that blood exiting the outlet port of the pump housing is conveyed through the lumen of the outlet cannula into the patient for transfer by the arterial system of the patient; a control unit having a processor, operatively coupled to the flow pump, for controlling operation thereof; and a pressure transducer mounted to a distal end of the inlet cannula for insertion into and sensing pressure within the patient's heart or blood vessel associated with the heart and providing a pressure sense signal indicative of the pressure sensed to the control unit, the control unit being operable to command a reduction in the output of the pump member when the pressure is determined to be below a predetermined threshold.