Implantable pump system having an undulating membrane
First Claim
1. A method of pumping blood from a patient'"'"'s left ventricle to the patient'"'"'s aorta comprising:
- delivering blood through an inlet of a housing to a flexible membrane held in tension and rigidly coupled to a magnetic ring;
exciting a first electromagnetic coil positioned above the magnetic ring to attract the magnetic ring thereby moving the magnetic ring upward;
terminating attraction of the magnetic ring to the first electromagnetic coil by ceasing excitement of the first electromagnetic coil;
exciting a second electromagnetic coil positioned below the first electromagnetic coil to the attract the magnetic ring thereby moving the magnetic ring downward; and
terminating attraction of the magnetic ring to the second electromagnetic coil by ceasing excitement of the second electromagnetic coil,wherein the upward and downward movement of the magnetic ring translates to upward and downward motion of the flexible membrane thereby propagating a wave along the flexible membrane to propel blood towards an outlet of the housing.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable pump system is provided, suitable for use as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) system, having an implantable pump, an extracorporeal battery and a controller coupled to the implantable pump, and a programmer selectively periodically coupled to the controller to configure and adjust operating parameters of the implantable pump. The implantable pump includes a flexible membrane coupled to an actuator assembly that is magnetically engagable with electromagnetic coils, so that when the electromagnetic coils are energized, the actuator assembly causes wavelike undulations to propagate along the flexible membrane to propel blood from through the implantable pump. The controller may be programmed by a programmer to operate at frequencies and duty cycles that mimic physiologic flow rates and pulsatility while operating in an efficient manner that avoids thrombus formation, hemolysis and/or platelet activation.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of pumping blood from a patient'"'"'s left ventricle to the patient'"'"'s aorta comprising:
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delivering blood through an inlet of a housing to a flexible membrane held in tension and rigidly coupled to a magnetic ring; exciting a first electromagnetic coil positioned above the magnetic ring to attract the magnetic ring thereby moving the magnetic ring upward; terminating attraction of the magnetic ring to the first electromagnetic coil by ceasing excitement of the first electromagnetic coil; exciting a second electromagnetic coil positioned below the first electromagnetic coil to the attract the magnetic ring thereby moving the magnetic ring downward; and terminating attraction of the magnetic ring to the second electromagnetic coil by ceasing excitement of the second electromagnetic coil, wherein the upward and downward movement of the magnetic ring translates to upward and downward motion of the flexible membrane thereby propagating a wave along the flexible membrane to propel blood towards an outlet of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of pumping blood from a patient'"'"'s left ventricle to the patient'"'"'s aorta, the method comprising:
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implanting a pump housing comprising an inlet in fluid communication with the left ventricle and an outlet in fluid communication with the aorta, the pump housing containing an actuator system comprising a stationary component and a moving component, and a flexible membrane coupled to the moving component; and sending an electrical signal to the actuator system to cause the stationary component to selectively generate a magnetic field such that the moving component reciprocates at a predetermined frequency and amplitude relative to the stationary component, thereby propagating a wave along the flexible membrane to pump blood at a blood flow rate from the inlet to the outlet. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification