Patent ID: 6929653

Claim:
Apparatus for performing beating heart surgery, said apparatus comprising: a cannula having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of said cannula configured for deployment substantially concentrically in an aorta to allow blood flow during systole in a direction proximally from the distal end to the proximal end of said cannula; an aortic filter mounted on a distal end portion of said cannula for disposition in the aorta; a check valve mounted on the distal end portion of said cannula and disposed distally of said aortic filter mounted on the distal end portion of said cannula; and a coronary artery filter connected to said cannula and extending distally of said check valve, a distal portion of said coronary artery filter being configured for deployment upstream of said aortic filter check valve, and said coronary artery filter being configured to make a sealing engagement with a periphery of an aortic valve and cover openings into coronary arteries.