Patent ID: 7614998
Filing Date: 2009-11-10
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
1. Apparatus comprising: an inflatable bladder, configured to be coupled to a blood vessel of a subject carrying oxygenated blood, such that an interior of the bladder is in fluid communication with the blood; a piston that comes in contact with an external surface of the bladder; a motor, configured to synchronize contraction and expansion of the bladder with a cardiac cycle of the subject by applying a motor force to the piston; and a spring, configured to apply a spring force to the piston, wherein the bladder is shaped so as to define inflow and outflow conduits, wherein the bladder is configured such that the interior of the bladder is in the fluid communication with the blood via the inflow and outflow conduits, wherein the piston comes in contact with a central portion of the bladder, and wherein the apparatus is configured such that upon the expansion of the bladder, a cross-sectional area of the central portion of the bladder is greater than a cross-sectional area of the inflow conduit.