Artificial heart with energy recovery
First Claim
1. An artificial heart assembly, comprising:
- a blood inlet conduit;
a blood outlet conduit;
a pump that is adapted to pump blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit;
an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject;
an external coil adapted to be disposed adjacent said internal coil and separated from said internal coil by the skin of a subject, said external coil being coupled to transmit electric power to said internal coil through the skin of a subject; and
a DC-to-AC converter coupled to said external coil and to a source of DC power, said DC-to-AC converter selectively converting DC power from said DC power source into either a first frequency or a second frequency, said first frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a first duration and said second frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a second duration longer than said first duration, said DC-to-AC converter comprising;
a first transistor coupled in parallel with a first diode;
a second transistor coupled in parallel with a second diode;
a third transistor coupled in parallel with a third diode;
a fourth transistor coupled in parallel with a fourth diode; and
a drive circuit operatively coupled to said transistors, said drive circuit causing all four of said transistors to be switched to a nonconductive state so that said four transistors are nonconductive for a time period.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for use in an artificial heart assembly includes an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject and an external coil coupled to transmit electric power to the internal coil through the skin of the subject. The apparatus includes a DC-to-AC converter coupled to the external coil which selectively converts DC power from a DC power source into either a first frequency or a second frequency, the first frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a first duration and the second frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a second duration longer than the first duration. The DC-to-AC converter comprises four switching components each coupled in parallel with a respective one of four passive components and a drive circuit operatively coupled to the switching components. The drive circuit causes the switching components to be switched to a nonconductive state so that they are nonconductive for a time period and so that electric current flows through a plurality of the passive components during that time period.
114 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An artificial heart assembly, comprising:
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a blood inlet conduit;
a blood outlet conduit;
a pump that is adapted to pump blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit;
an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject;
an external coil adapted to be disposed adjacent said internal coil and separated from said internal coil by the skin of a subject, said external coil being coupled to transmit electric power to said internal coil through the skin of a subject; and
a DC-to-AC converter coupled to said external coil and to a source of DC power, said DC-to-AC converter selectively converting DC power from said DC power source into either a first frequency or a second frequency, said first frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a first duration and said second frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a second duration longer than said first duration, said DC-to-AC converter comprising;
a first transistor coupled in parallel with a first diode;
a second transistor coupled in parallel with a second diode;
a third transistor coupled in parallel with a third diode;
a fourth transistor coupled in parallel with a fourth diode; and
a drive circuit operatively coupled to said transistors, said drive circuit causing all four of said transistors to be switched to a nonconductive state so that said four transistors are nonconductive for a time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a first membrane defining a blood chamber fluidly coupled to said blood inlet conduit and said blood outlet conduit, wherein said pump comprises a pusher member which makes contact with said first membrane to force blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit;
a second membrane defining a second blood chamber fluidly coupled to a second blood inlet conduit and a second blood outlet conduit; and
a second pusher member which makes contact with said second membrane to force blood from said second blood inlet conduit to said second blood outlet conduit.
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10. An artificial heart assembly, comprising:
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a blood inlet conduit;
a blood outlet conduit;
a pump that is adapted to pump blood from said blood inlet conduit to said blood outlet conduit;
an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject;
an external coil adapted to be disposed adjacent said internal coil and separated from said internal coil by the skin of a subject, said external coil being coupled to transmit electric power to said internal coil through the skin of a subject; and
a DC-to-AC converter coupled to said external coil and to a source of DC power, said DC-to-AC converter selectively converting DC power from said DC power source into either a first frequency or a second frequency, said first frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a first duration and said second frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a second duration longer than said first duration, said DC-to-AC converter comprising;
a first switching component coupled in parallel with a first passive component;
a second switching component coupled in parallel with a second passive component;
a third switching component coupled in parallel with a third passive component;
a fourth switching component coupled in parallel with a fourth passive component; and
a drive circuit operatively coupled to said switching components, said drive circuit causing all four of said switching components to be switched to a nonconductive state so that said four switching components are nonconductive for a time period and so that electric current flows through a plurality of said passive components during said time period. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Apparatus for use in an artificial heart assembly having a blood inlet conduit, a blood outlet conduit, and a pump that is adapted to pump blood from the blood inlet conduit to the blood outlet conduit, said apparatus comprising:
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an internal coil adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject;
an external coil adapted to be disposed adjacent said internal coil and separated from said internal coil by the skin of a subject, said external coil being coupled to transmit electric power to said internal coil through the skin of a subject; and
a DC-to-AC converter coupled to said external coil and to a source of DC power, said DC-to-AC converter selectively converting DC power from said DC power source into either a first frequency or a second frequency, said first frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a first duration and said second frequency having a plurality of cycles each of a second duration longer than said first duration, said DC-to-AC converter comprising;
a first switching component coupled in parallel with a first passive component;
a second switching component coupled in parallel with a second passive component;
a third switching component coupled in parallel with a third passive component;
a fourth switching component coupled in parallel with a fourth passive component; and
a drive circuit operatively coupled to said switching components, said drive circuit causing all four of said switching components to be switched to a nonconductive state so that said four switching components are nonconductive for a time period and so that electric current flows through a plurality of said passive components during said time period. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification