Patent ID: 7651462

Claim:
An apparatus including a cardiac support device (CSD) and an apparatus for placing the CSD on a heart, comprising: a CSD; a plurality of release structures including a cord on the CSD; a body; a deployment mechanism on the body for supporting the CSD in an open position for placement on the heart, the deployment mechanism including a plurality of elongate support members; and a release mechanism coupled to the deployment mechanism for releasably mounting the CSD to the deployment mechanism, the release mechanism including: a plurality of release elements coupled to the support members and movable between engaged and released states with respect to the support members, each of the release elements releasably engaged to the cord of one of the release structures on the CSD in the engaged state and disengaged from the cord of the release structures in the released state; and a release actuator coupled to the release elements for actuating the release elements by moving the release elements between the engaged and released states to release the CSD from the deployment mechanism.