Patent ID: 6974436

Claim:
A system for maintaining at least partial blood flow within a heart, comprising: a conduit having an inner flow path and an outer flow path, the conduit being sized and configured to be introduced into the heart through at least one of the wall of the right atrium, the wall of the right ventricle, the wall of the pulmonary artery, the wall of left atrium, the wall of the left ventricle, and the wall of the aorta; said conduit including a blood inlet port communicating with one of the inner flow path and the outer flow path and a blood outlet port communicating with the other one of the inner flow path and the outer flow path, said blood inlet port and said blood outlet port being sized and configured to be positioned on either side of at least one of the tricuspid valve, the pulmonary valve, the bicuspid valve, and the aortic valve; and a blood pump disposed within said conduit for selectively transporting blood from said blood inlet port to said blood outlet port of said conduit.