Tc1 LLC

Thoratec Corporation

Tci Incorporated

Kevin Bourque

Justin Aron Callaway

Cori G Pierce

Christopher James Cotter

Charles Dague

Maria Dominika Kulinski

Ben Gamulo

Jeff Narum

Onur Dur

Julien Duhamel

J Donald Hill

Dustin Seth West

Terry Barnes

Peter Gazzara, Iii

Steven H Reichenbach

David J Burke

Brian Kimball

Justin Aaron Callaway

Yi-Ren Woo

Stephen G Briana

Kelly Walsh

Charles P Dague

Seth West

Peter Gazarra

Cori Pierce

The invention generally relates to improved medical blood pump devices, systems, and methods. For example, blood pumps may be provided that include a housing defining a blood flow path between an inlet and an outlet. A rotor may be positioned in the blood flow path. A motor stator may be driven to rotate the rotor to provide the blood flow through the pump. Axial and/or tilt stabilization components may be provided to increase an axial and/or tilt stabilization of the rotor within the blood flow path. In some embodiments, biasing forces are provided that urge the rotor toward a bearing component. The biasing force may be provided by adjusting drive signals of the motor stator. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more magnets (e.g., permanent/stator magnets) may be provided to bias the rotor in the upstream and/or downstream direction (e.g., toward a bearing (chamfer, step, conical), or the like).

Axial flow blood pump

A blood pump system includes a first implantable housing, an implantable blood pump independent from the first implantable housing, and a percutaneous extension. The first implantable housing includes a rechargeable power storage device. The implantable blood pump supplements the pumping function of a heart. The rechargeable power storage device supplies electrical power to the implantable blood pump. The percutaneous extension is coupled to the rechargeable power storage device and adapted to traverse the skin. The percutaneous extension is configured to releasably connect to an external power supply adapted to provide power for recharging or supplementing the rechargeable power storage device to power the implantable blood pump.

Mobility-enhancing blood pump system

Mechanical circulatory assist systems and related methods produce a pulsatile blood flow in synchronization with heart activity. A mechanical circulatory assist system includes a continuous-flow pump and a controller. The continuous-flow pump is implantable in fluid communication with a left ventricle of a heart of a patient and an aorta of the patient to assist blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. The controller includes a sensor that generates a signal indicative of an activity of the heart. The controller is operatively connected to the continuous-flow pump and configured to operate the continuous-flow pump in an artificial pulse mode in synchronization with the activity of the heart.

Generating artificial pulse

In one general aspect, a cuff for attachment to a heart includes an attachment component configured to engage a blood pump to attach the cuff to the blood pump and a sewing ring for attachment to the heart. The sewing ring is coupled to the attachment component, and the attachment component and the sewing ring each define a central opening configured to admit an inflow cannula of a blood pump. The sewing ring comprises a member that provides rigidity to flatten a portion of a myocardium of the heart when the cuff is attached to the heart.

Ventricular cuff

An implantable system includes a ventricular assist device and a cuff for attachment to a heart. The ventricular assist device includes an inlet cannula. The cuff defines an opening for insertion of the inlet cannula into the opening. The cuff includes an annular fastening member and an attachment member. The annular fastening member is configured to be sutured to heart tissue. The attachment member includes flexible extensions. Each of the flexible extensions is configured to interface with the inlet cannula during insertion of the inlet cannula into the opening so as to cause the flexible extension to flex outward to accommodate passing of the inlet cannula along the opening. Each of the flexible extensions is configured to interface with the inlet cannula to impede extraction of the inlet cannula from the opening.

A mechanical circulatory assist system includes a continuous-flow pump and a controller. The pump is implantable to assist blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta The controller is operable to control a rotation speed of the pump over an operational cycle. The operational cycle includes a first segment over which the ventricular assist device is operated at first rotation speed, a second segment over which the rotation speed of the ventricular assist device is decreased from the first rotation speed to a second rotation speed, a third segment over which the ventricular assist device is operated at the second rotation speed, and a fourth segment over which the rotation speed of the ventricular assist device is increased from the second rotation speed. A contraction of the left ventricle that opens and closes the native aortic valve occurs during the third segment.

A mechanical circulatory support system includes an implantable blood pump, an implantable prosthetic rib assembly, and an implantable drive cable. The prosthetic rib assembly includes a prosthetic rib segment and a percutaneous electrical connector mounted to the prosthetic rib segment. The prosthetic rib segment is configured to be mounted to a patient's rib in place of a resected segment of the patient's rib. The electrical connector includes a skin interface portion configured to interface with an edge of a skin aperture through the patient's skin. The electrical connector is configured to expose a connection port of the electrical connector via the skin aperture. The implantable power cable is connected with or configured to be connected with each of the blood pump and the percutaneous electrical connector for transferring electric power received by the percutaneous electrical connector to the blood pump.

Prosthetic rib with integrated percutaneous connector for ventricular assist devices

An implantable system includes a ventricular assist device (VAD), a cuff for attachment to a heart, and a latching mechanism attached to the VAD. The VAD includes an inlet cannula. The cuff defines an outward facing circumferential groove and an opening for the inlet cannula. The cuff includes a plurality of ridges disposed at least partially within the outward facing circumferential groove. The latching mechanism is reconfigurable between an unlatched configuration in which the latching mechanism accommodates insertion of the inlet cannula into the opening and a latched configuration in which the latching mechanism is engaged with the cuff to restrain the position of the inlet cannula relative to the cuff and engaged with at least one of the plurality of ridges to block rotation of the VAD relative to the cuff.

A method for assisting blood circulation in a patient includes drawing a flow of blood from a patient's heart into a blood flow channel formed by a housing. The flow of blood is passed through a motor stator to a rotor disposed within the blood flow channel. The motor stator is arranged circumferentially around the blood flow channel. The rotor has permanent magnetic poles for magnetic levitation and rotation of the rotor. The motor stator is controlled to act as a radial bearing for magnetic levitation of the rotor and to rotate the rotor within the blood flow channel. The rotor is levitated within the blood flow channel in the direction of the rotor axis of rotation via passive magnetic interaction between the rotor and the motor stator. The flow of blood is output from the blood flow channel to the patient.

Implantable blood pump

In one general aspect, an implant includes a cuff defining an opening configured to receive a cannula coupled to a heart pump. The implant includes a coupling mechanism having a first position and a second position, the cuff being uncoupled from the cannula in the first position and the coupling mechanism coupling the cuff to the cannula in the second position. The implant includes a locking mechanism configured to secure the coupling mechanism in the second position, and the locking mechanism is configured to be moved to a locked position after the coupling mechanism is in the second position.

In order to produce a pulsatile blood flow pattern that includes time periods of relatively high blood flow rates and time periods of relatively low blood flow rates, the operating speed of a blood pump can be selectively controlled to produce an operating speed pattern that includes time periods of relatively high rotation speeds and periods of relatively low rotation speeds. For example, the blood pump is rotated at a first speed for a first period of time. The speed of the blood pump is then decreased from the first speed to a second speed and is operated at the second speed for a second amount of time. The speed of the blood pump is then decreased to a third speed for a third amount of time. If desired, the operating speed pattern can be repeated to continue the pulsatile blood flow pattern.

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Reading, MA, United States of America

Kevin Bourque