Patent ID: 8900114

Claim:
A pulsatile blood pump suitable for implantation into a patient in place of a resected portion of an ascending aorta of the patient, the blood pump comprising: a substantially tubular body having first and second ends with a blood passageway extending therebetween for the passage of blood between said first end and said second end; a flexible membrane attached to the tubular body to form a fluid chamber between the flexible membrane and an inner surface of the tubular body, the flexible membrane thereby separating the fluid chamber from the blood passageway; and a port in the tubular body arranged to allow fluid to flow into and out of the fluid chamber such that the volume of the fluid chamber increases and the volume of the blood passageway decreases when fluid flows into the fluid chamber via the port, and such that the volume of the fluid chamber decreases and the volume of the blood passageway increases when fluid flows out of the fluid chamber via the port, wherein said tubular body is configured so that blood within the blood passageway is not precluded from flowing through both the first and second ends and further wherein the tubular body has no check valves.