Harvard College

Children's Medical Center Corporation

Erik A Kraus

Conor James Walsh

Pedro J Del Nido

Nikolay V Vasilyev

Evelyn J Park

Nikhil Mehandru

Isaac Wamala

Tonatiuh M Lievano Beltran

Markus Horvath

Methods and apparatuses relate to an implantable device for providing contractile assistance to an organ. The device may include an actuator and anchors located on either side of the actuator. The anchors engage with oppositely positioned tissue walls of an organ chamber, and provide contractile assistance to the organ, repeatedly, at appropriate times. For example, the device may be implanted within the right ventricle, anchored to the right ventricular free wall and the ventricular septum. The device may function to bring the opposing walls of the ventricle toward one another, synchronized with the pacing of the heart, resulting in an improved ejection fraction of blood from the chamber. In some embodiments, the actuator includes a bladder that is configured to contract upon receiving an inflow of pressurized fluid therein. When the fluid exits therefrom, the bladder relaxes back to an initial, extended state.

Mechanical assist device

Growing community of inventors

Hillsborough, NC, United States of America

Erik A Kraus