Optimized pulsatile-flow ventricular-assist device and total artificial heart

Abstract

A method of optimizing a mechanical cardiac pumping device includes modeling the circulatory system of the patient who will receive the mechanical cardiac pumping device and identifying an operating condition of the native heart to which the device will respond. The model is used to determine the required blood volume to be ejected from the device and an initial estimate of the power required to be provided to the mechanical cardiac pumping device is provided in order to provide the required ejected blood volume. The resultant ejected blood volume is evaluated with data obtained from the model and the estimate of the power requirement is then updated. The above steps are iteratively performed until the power required to obtain the necessary ejected blood volume is identified. Possible variations of power and pumping rate that allow the mechanical cardiac pumping device to provide the required volume are determined and the variation that best matches the physiological constraints of the patient and minimizes the power required by the mechanical cardiac pumping device is selected. The steps are iteratively performed until the mechanical cardiac pumping device is optimized to respond to each desired operating condition of the native heart.

1 . A device to assist the function of a cardiac ventricle, the device comprising: 
 a first magnet having an open center and formed of high ferromagnetic-constant material;    a first vessel surrounding the first magnet and defining a space in fluid communication with the blood flow output great vessel of the diseased ventricle of the patient using the device, the first magnet being movable within the first vessel in substantial fluid-tight relation thereto;    a second magnet formed of high ferromagnetic-constant material and in magnetic communication with the first magnet and the second magnet affect each other, so that the first magnet and the second magnet are biased toward and tend to lock to one another, to thereby move in the same direction as one another;    a second vessel encasing the second magnet and defining a space, the second magnet being movable within the space in substantially fluid-tight relation to the second vessel, the space defined by the second vessel being in fluid communication with a hydraulic pump for actuaing the second magnet; and a one-way valve connected to the first magnet, the one-way valve being movable with the first magnet, and adapted to cause movement of blood from the diseased ventricle to and into the great vessel associated with that diseased ventricle.