External Cardiac Jacket with Pneumatic Bladders for Heart Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for congestive heart failure, such as drug therapies, heart transplants, and ventricular assist devices, are inadequate for long-term management, particularly due to invasive procedures and complications like clotting and infection associated with device implantation.
Innovation Solution
A cardiac assist device comprising a jacket with pneumatic or hydraulic bladders linked to a pump, which assists heart contraction and expansion by filling and emptying the bladders in sync with heartbeats, providing support without direct blood contact and invasive surgery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ventricular assist devices are implanted to treat heart failure, then heart pumping function is improved, but invasive surgery and direct blood contact lead to clotting, strokes, and infection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cardiac jacket as an intermediary device that wraps around the heart externally, with bladders that can be inflated to assist heart contraction. This mediator allows mechanical assistance without direct contact with blood or invasive penetration of heart tissue, thereby avoiding clotting and infection risks while still improving pumping function
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical VAD system with a pneumatic/hydraulic system. Instead of using a mechanical pump to directly move blood, the invention uses inflatable bladders filled with gas or liquid to apply external compression to the heart, substituting direct mechanical blood handling with indirect pneumatic/hydraulic actuation
2Reliability
If VAD surgery is performed to assist heart function, then pumping efficiency is improved, but surgical complexity and invasiveness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible cardiac jacket made of thin, compliant material that can be wrapped around the heart and conforms to its shape. This flexible shell approach simplifies implantation compared to rigid VAD components, as the jacket can be easily positioned and secured without complex surgical procedures, while still providing effective mechanical assistance through bladder inflation
3Reliability
If direct interface of VAD with patient's blood is established, then heart failure is treated, but clotting and infection risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cardiac jacket serves as a blood-free intermediary zone between the external environment and the heart. The bladders inflate within the jacket chamber, applying compression to the heart wall without penetrating into the blood-filled ventricles. This intermediary arrangement provides effective heart failure treatment while completely avoiding direct blood contact, eliminating clotting and infection risks
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 device effectively enhances heart pumping efficiency and filling capabilities, reducing the risk of complications like clotting and infection, offering a less invasive alternative for managing heart failure.
Implementation Method 1
The pneumatic or hydraulic bladders are linked to a pump, and the pump fills the bladders with fluid and withdraws the fluid in a cycle to match beats of the heart to assist contraction and pumping of the heart in systole
Implementation Method 2
The pneumatic or hydraulic bladders are linked to a pump, and the pump fills the bladders with fluid and withdraws the fluid in a cycle to match beats of the heart
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The embodiments relate to cardiac assist devices that comprise a jacket that wraps the exterior of the heart, where the jacket comprises one or more pneumatic or hydraulic bladders. The pneumatic or hydraulic bladders are linked to a pump, and the pump fills the bladders with fluid and withdraws the fluid in a cycle to match beats of the heart to assist contraction and pumping of the heart in systole or to assist expansion and filling of the heart in diastole.