Retrievable Intravascular Hemodynamic Assist Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mechanical treatments for heart failure, such as ventricular assist devices, are invasive and can hinder cardiac recovery, and the scarcity of donor hearts limits the availability of heart transplants, necessitating a minimally invasive, retrievable hemodynamic assist device that does not damage the heart and supports blood flow effectively.
Innovation Solution
A retrievable intravascular hemodynamic flow assist device with a collapsible pump and cage structure, featuring a motor-driven shaft with collapsible blades and a stent-like cage that expands to increase blood flow, allowing for minimally invasive implantation and retrieval, and can remain in the blood vessel for up to six months.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional ventricular assist device is implanted to increase blood flow, then hemodynamic support is improved, but invasiveness and risk of cardiac damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical ventricular assist devices with a magnetic field-based system. External magnets interact with magnetic beads coated on red blood cells to generate blood flow, eliminating the need for invasive mechanical pumps and reducing direct mechanical trauma to the heart and blood vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
Magnetic beads coated on red blood cells serve as intermediaries between external magnets and blood flow generation. These beads transmit magnetic forces to the blood cells without requiring direct contact between external devices and the circulatory system, reducing invasiveness while maintaining effective blood flow control.
2Duration of action of moving object
If a ventricular assist device is implanted for long-term support, then hemodynamic assistance is improved, but device retrieval and reversibility become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing implanted mechanical devices with an external magnetic field system, the patent enables complete reversibility. The magnetic beads remain on blood cells permanently, but the external magnets can be removed at any time, allowing immediate cessation of assistance without surgical retrieval procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a non-invasive copy of the ventricular assist function using external magnets that replicate the pumping action through magnetic interaction with blood cells, eliminating the need for permanent implanted hardware while maintaining long-term support capability.
3Reliability
If donor hearts are used for transplantation to treat heart failure, then cardiac replacement is improved, but availability is limited due to scarcity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes biological heart transplantation with an external magnetic field-based mechanical assistance system. This approach provides reliable cardiac support without requiring scarce donor organs, using physics-based magnetic interaction to replicate heart pumping function.
4Ease of operation
If a collapsible pump design is used to reduce implantation size, then ease of implantation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for collapsible pump structures by replacing implanted mechanical devices with external magnets. The magnetic field system requires no structural transformation or complex deployment mechanisms, simplifying the overall system while maintaining ease of application through non-invasive external placement.
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 increases systemic blood flow, reduces strain on the diseased heart, and allows for potential cardiac recovery by providing additional blood flow without the invasive risks of traditional mechanical treatments, while being retrievable and adaptable to different patient needs.
Implementation Method 1
a motor configured to rotate the shaft; wherein the pump comprises at least one collapsible blade
Implementation Method 2
the device has a first diameter in a compressed configuration and a second diameter in an expanded configuration, wherein the second diameter is greater than the first diameter
Data Source
AI summary
A hemodynamic flow assist device includes a miniature pump, a basket-like cage enclosing and supporting the pump, and a motor to drive the pump. The device is implanted and retrieved in a minimally invasive manner via percutaneous access to a patient's artery. The device has a first, collapsed configuration to assist in implantation and a second, expanded configuration once deployed and active. The device is deployed within a patient's aorta and is secured in place via a self-expanding cage which engages the inner wall of the aorta. The device includes a helical screw pump with self-expanding blades, sensors, and anchoring structures. Also disclosed is a retrieval device to remove the hemodynamic flow assist device once it is no longer needed by the patient and an arterial closure device to close the artery access point after implantation and removal of the hemodynamic flow assist device. The hemodynamic flow assist device helps to increase blood flow in patients suffering from congestive heart failure and awaiting heart transplant.