Direct Cardiac Compression Device with Segmented Pockets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing direct cardiac compression devices (DCCDs) face premature failure due to high pull stress on connection points and tension stress on the outer wall, and they fail to mimic the natural twisting motion of the heart, leading to inefficiencies in cardiac compression.
Innovation Solution
A DCCD design featuring one or more passive chambers that taper from an aperture to an apex, with independently inflatable active pockets that do not tension adjacent pockets upon inflation, and a frame that surrounds the active chambers, allowing for a containment layer that extends around the device and includes materials for antiadhesion and antimicrobial properties, enabling longer use and improved cardiac compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If adjacent pockets are inflated simultaneously from the same compressed air source, then cardiac compression force is generated, but high pull stress on connection points causes premature device failure
Solution Approach 1:
The active chamber is divided into multiple independently inflatable pockets (first pocket, second pocket, third pocket, fourth pocket) with separate inflation control. This segmentation allows selective inflation of adjacent pockets at different times, preventing simultaneous pull stress on connection points while maintaining cardiac compression capability through sequential activation.
2Shape
If the active chamber wall is made thin and flexible to conform to the heart, then better cardiac contact is achieved, but excessive tension stress on the outer wall causes early failure
Solution Approach 1:
A passive chamber is introduced between the heart and the active chamber to serve as a cushioning element. The passive chamber absorbs excessive tension stress during heart contraction, protecting the thin flexible active chamber wall from premature failure while maintaining good cardiac contact through the compliant passive layer.
3Ease of manufacture
If the active chamber is designed with a fixed circular shape, then manufacturing is simplified, but it cannot follow the natural twisting motion of the heart
Solution Approach 1:
The active chamber transitions from a fixed circular design to a dynamic multi-pocket structure that can adapt its shape. By selectively inflating and deflating different pockets, the chamber can dynamically conform to the heart's changing geometry and twisting motion during the cardiac cycle, while still using simple circular pocket templates for manufacturing.
4Productivity
If pockets are inflated to maximize compression, then cardiac support effectiveness increases, but stress concentration on the active chamber wall increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compression function is segmented across multiple independently controllable pockets. This allows the system to distribute compression forces across different pockets and time intervals, achieving effective cardiac support while reducing peak stress concentration on any single point of the active chamber wall through load distribution.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design extends the operational period of DCCDs beyond a few days to several weeks or months, reduces stress concentrations, and allows for more direct and natural cardiac compression, enhancing the device's longevity and effectiveness in cardiac support.
Implementation Method 1
an internal passive chamber located concentrically with and inside the active chamber (not shown). Such passive chamber is used to fill the voids between the uneven and not exactly circular shape of the heart in cross-section and a perfectly round shape of the active chamber
Implementation Method 2
Each pocket 12 is in contact with adjacent pockets 12 at the connection points 18. Inflation of all pockets 12 at the same time from the same source of compressed air causes each pocket to expand in the mid-section
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a direct cardiac compression device comprising one or more passive chambers that taper from an aperture to an apex; one or more inflatable active pockets individually independently inflatable, wherein each of the one or more inflatable active pockets is connected to the one or more passive chambers at least partially from the aperture to the apex and wherein the each of the one or more inflatable active pockets does not tension the adjacent one or more inflatable active pockets upon inflation; and a frame in contact with the one or more active chambers to at least partially surround the one or more active pockets.