Patent ID: 8784292

Claim:
A system for cardiac assist of a heart in a beating stage comprising: (a) a double balloon catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, the catheter having at least one lumen; (b) an inflatable intra-ventricular balloon mounted on the catheter near the distal end of the catheter, the balloon having a lumen in fluid communication with the lumen of the catheter and being configured for inflation in a ventricle; and (c) an intra-aortic balloon mounted on the catheter proximally to the intra-ventricular balloon; (d) a control unit comprising: (1) a bidirectional pump; (2) a fluid reservoir; and (3) a processor configured to activate the pump; wherein the proximal end of the catheter is configured for attachment to the control unit to form a fluid conduction system in which fluid is configured to be pumped by the pump between the fluid reservoir and the intra-ventricular balloon and the intra-aortic balloon; (e) at least one or more electrodes mounted on the catheter near the distal end generating a signal indicative of electrical activity of the heart and wherein the processor is configured to receive the electrical signals to operate the pump to coordinate inflation and deflation of the balloons with the cardiac cycle; wherein the control unit is configured to begin inflating the intraventricular balloon at the end of the slow ejection phase of the beating heart, before closure of either the aortic valve or pulmonic valve in the right ventricle, such that a new pressure wave is created to generate systolic augmentation, and any residual volume of blood left in said ventricle is displaced to achieve a pre-determined intra-ventricular systolic pressure.