External cardiac stress reduction method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for treating a heart, comprising:
- providing an external heart device sized to completely encircle the heart generally horizontally around the ventricles thereof, the external heart device further having a plurality of inflatable chambers spaced apart from each other;
securing the external heart device to an external surface and generally horizontally around the ventricles of a patient'"'"'s heart such that the inflatable chambers face the external surface and are spaced apart from each other around the heart, the external heart device having a width such that none of the external heart device covers an apex of the heart; and
adjusting a size of one of the plurality of inflatable chambers to change a configuration of the patient'"'"'s heart, throughout a cardiac cycle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An external heart wall stress reduction apparatus is provided to create a heart wall shape change. The device is generally disposed to the exterior of a heart chamber to reshape the chamber into a lower stress configuration.
-
Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A method for treating a heart, comprising:
-
providing an external heart device sized to completely encircle the heart generally horizontally around the ventricles thereof, the external heart device further having a plurality of inflatable chambers spaced apart from each other; securing the external heart device to an external surface and generally horizontally around the ventricles of a patient'"'"'s heart such that the inflatable chambers face the external surface and are spaced apart from each other around the heart, the external heart device having a width such that none of the external heart device covers an apex of the heart; and adjusting a size of one of the plurality of inflatable chambers to change a configuration of the patient'"'"'s heart, throughout a cardiac cycle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method for treating a heart, comprising:
-
providing an external heart device sized to completely encircle the heart generally horizontally around the ventricles thereof, the external heart device further having at least two inflatable chambers spaced apart from each other; positioning the two inflatable chambers on opposite sides of and in contact with the left ventricle; securing the external heart device to an external surface and generally horizontally around the ventricles of a patient'"'"'s heart such that the inflatable chambers face the external surface and are spaced apart from each other around the heart; inflating the two inflatable chambers to a static size to deform the left ventricle from a generally circular cross sectional configuration to a bi-lobe configuration. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
Specification