Minimally Invasive LVAD via Peripheral Vascular Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mechanical circulatory assistance devices for heart failure require invasive surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass, and heart arrest, limiting their use to severe cases due to high risk and complexity, thus not effectively addressing the needs of a larger group of patients with less severe congestive heart failure.
Innovation Solution
Development of minimally invasive left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) that can be inserted without thoracotomy or cardiopulmonary bypass, using interventional cardiologist techniques and peripheral vascular access, allowing for less invasive implantation and ambulatory use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mechanical circulatory assistance devices are used, then hemodynamic effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and surgical risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate components: an intravascular pump unit that can be inserted through peripheral vessels and a separate control system. This segmentation allows the pump to be deployed minimally invasively while maintaining full hemodynamic functionality, resolving the contradiction between effectiveness and surgical complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses peripheral blood vessels as an intermediary pathway to deliver the pump to the heart without requiring direct surgical access to the heart chambers. This intermediary route enables complex hemodynamic support to be achieved through simple peripheral insertion, reducing surgical complexity while maintaining effectiveness.
2Ease of operation
If invasive surgical methods are used for device implantation, then device functionality is ensured, but patient safety and ease of implantation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical surgical insertion methods with a catheter-based delivery system that utilizes blood flow dynamics. The pump is delivered through peripheral vessels using minimally invasive techniques rather than open surgery, dramatically reducing surgical risk while maintaining ease of implantation through standardized catheterization procedures.
3Reliability
If traditional LVAD implantation is performed, then ventricular support is achieved, but patient mobility and quality of life are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing utilizes flexible materials that allow the device to conform to the vascular environment and accommodate patient movement. This flexibility enables the device to maintain ventricular support effectiveness while allowing patients to move freely and maintain an active lifestyle, improving ambulatory functionality.
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
These devices provide improved safety and simplicity for implantation, making ventricular assistance available to a broader range of patients, including those with class III congestive heart failure, and offer extended ambulatory functionality.
Implementation Method 1
the rotor comprising a shaft with an outer surface and an impeller extending from the shaft at a first location on the outer surface
Implementation Method 2
The inner bearing surface of the pump housing is closely fitted to the outer bearing surface of the shaft to form an annular clearance there between such that during actuation of the rotor the inner bearing surface and outer bearing surface form a hydrodynamic journal bearing
Data Source
AI summary
A heart assist device comprising a rotary pump housing having a cylindrical bore, a pumping chamber and a motor stator including an electrically conductive coil located within the housing and surrounding a portion of the cylindrical bore. A rotor has a cylindrical shaft with an impeller and one or more rotor magnets located within the shaft that are responsive to the motor stator to drive actuation of the rotor. The housing bore is closely fitted to the outer surface of the shaft forming a hydrodynamic journal bearing with an annular clearance defining a leakage flow path. One or more of radial or axial thrust bearings may provide rotation stability to the rotor and flow within the leakage flow path. The relative orientation of positions of the inflow, outflow, and leakage flow paths may be varied within the pump, such as to accommodate different intended methods for implantation and/or use.