Method and apparatus for pumping blood within a vessel
First Claim
1. A method for perfusing a body organ or tissue with blood or a blood substitute, comprising the steps of connecting the organ or tissue to pump means with a conduit, and pulsating the blood or blood substitute within the tissue or organ by operating the pump means at a frequency substantially greater than the normal pulsation frequency of the heart to produce an amplified dynamic pressure wave form in the blood or blood substitute within the microcirculatory vessels to increase the penetration of the blood or blood substitute into the body tissue or organ.
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Abstract
A dynamically augmenting pump system incorporates a sealed liquid-filled catheter which is inserted into a vessel such as an artery, and the pump system is operated in timed relation with the heart to aid the heart during episodes of impairment or failure of cardiac function by producing higher frequency pulsation or pressure waves within the blood during diastole and during the isometric contraction period of the heart. This frequency of pulsation is adjusted to the dynamic transmission characteristics of a selected circulatory subsystem, such as the coronary vascular system, to assure the transmission of a maximum of pulsatile energy into the subsystem. The catheter provides energy to maintain adequate blood flow through the healthy part of the myocardium and has a passage for injecting successive quantities of medication into the coronary arteries. The pump system also functions to penetrate the ischemic myocardial tissue with arterial blood and medication. The pump system may also be used to provide a flow of blood or substitute perfusates through selected tissues or body organs or to enhanced perfusion for other parts of the systemic circulatory system, for example, to prevent such detrimental effects as renal failure. Any one or combination of the functions may be used depending on the special medical conditions of the patient.
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Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A method for perfusing a body organ or tissue with blood or a blood substitute, comprising the steps of connecting the organ or tissue to pump means with a conduit, and pulsating the blood or blood substitute within the tissue or organ by operating the pump means at a frequency substantially greater than the normal pulsation frequency of the heart to produce an amplified dynamic pressure wave form in the blood or blood substitute within the microcirculatory vessels to increase the penetration of the blood or blood substitute into the body tissue or organ.
- 9. Apparatus for perfusing a body organ or tissue with blood or a blood substitute, comprising pump means, a conduit for connecting said pump means to the body tissue or organ, means driving said pump means for pulsating the blood or blood substitute within said body organ or tissue at a frequency substantially greater than the normal pulsation frequency of the heart, and means for varying the frequency and amplitude of said driving means according to the needs of the tissue or organ to produce an amplified dynamic pressure wave form in the blood or blood substitute within the microcirculatory vessels to increase the penetration of the blood or blood substitute into the body tissue or organ.
Specification