University System of Maryland

Thoratec Corporation

Breethe, Inc

Zhongjun Wu

Bartley Griffith

Barry N Gellman

Andrew Koert

Juntao Zhang

David Nelson Wells

Joseph Rabin

Keshava Rajagopal

Bartley P Griffith

Jun Ding

Jiafeng Zhang

Steven J Orwig

P Bartley Griffith

A device and method is provided herein for esophageal impingement of a patient's aorta. The device may be inserted into a patient's esophagus and positioned at the location where the esophagus passes over the patient's aorta. In this position, an actuation device is used to apply pressure to the patient's aorta through their esophagus to impinge or occlude the aorta to stop or significantly reduce hemorrhaging. A manually operable actuator handle enables a physician to manipulate a head assembly of the device through three distinct degrees of freedom of movement so as to control placement and direction of force against the patient's esophagus and, in turn, their aorta.

Trans-esophageal aortic flow rate control

A blood oxygenator is disclosed comprising a housing, a blood inlet, a blood outlet, a spiral volute, a gas inlet, an oxygenator fiber bundle, and a gas outlet. The housing encloses the fiber bundle and provides the structure for the blood flow path and connectors. The fiber bundle comprises gas-exchange membranes which transfer oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide when the blood flows across the membranes. The spiral volute guides the blood to flow through the fiber bundle. A gas flow chamber receives sweep gas containing oxygen and distributes the sweep gas into the fiber membranes, which gas is then exchanged with the blood being oxygenated.

Blood oxygenator

The present invention discloses a self-sealing cannula and methods of its use. The self-sealing cannula can be minimally invasively placed into the heart for drawing and/or returning blood with a self-sealing function at the interface of the blood access site. The disclosed cannula can be implemented as a single lumen cannula or a double lumen cannula, which can be used with ventricular assist devices for heart support or pump-oxygenators for ECMO and respiratory support. Through a self-sealing mechanism fixed on the ventricular wall or atrial wall, a cannula body is attached to the self-sealing fixture and blood is drawn into the lumen via an external pump and returned to the circulation system through a separate cannula. In the case of the double lumen cannula embodiment, the blood will be drawn into the drainage lumen of the double lumen cannula and returned through an infusion lumen at the desired location. The present invention achieves minimally invasive insertion without surgical sutures to the heart, and allows for optimal drainage of the blood from the heart. With use of the double lumen cannula, it prevents need for multiple cannulation sites, and greatly reduces the blood recirculation. Removal of the cannula is simplified without need for suturing or insertion of a plugging member.

Self-sealing cannula

An oxygen supply unit for use with a blood oxygenator comprises an oxygen concentrator and a carbon dioxide scrubber. In an on-line operational mode, oxygen-rich gas from the oxygen concentrator is predominantly supplied to the blood oxygenator with a reduced flow of recycled gas from the concentrator. In an off-line operational mode where the oxygen supply unit is being powered by battery only, a larger flow of recycled gas from the blood oxygenator is passed through the carbon dioxide scrubber and combined with a lesser amount of oxygen-rich gas from the oxygen concentrator. The oxygen supply unit may be used in combination with a blood pump and oxygenator to provide ambulatory blood oxygenation to patients with compromised lung function.

Artificial lung system and its methods of use

The device of the present invention includes a dual chamber gas exchanger that is configured for increased flexibility and scalability for many clinical applications. The dual chamber oxygenator can be configured and used in various applications, such as in a heart-lung machine for cardiopulmonary support during cardiothoracic surgery, in an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuitry, as a respiratory assist device for patients with lung failure, and the like. The dual chamber gas exchanger features two sweep gas flow paths and two gas exchange membrane bundles enclosed in a housing structure with various blood flow distribution and gas distribution mechanisms. The gas exchanger includes an outer housing, an intermediate housing, two gas exchange fiber bundles, a blood inlet, a blood outlet, two gas inlets, two gas outlets, two gas distribution chambers and an optional heat exchanger.

Dual chamber gas exchanger and method of use for respiratory support

Disclosed is a self-expanding cannula, systems using such cannulae, and methods of their use. The cannulae may comprise single lumen cannula (SLC) configurations and double lumen cannula (DLC) configurations, and include at least a first cannula and a self-expanding wire frame attached to the first cannula. Self-expanding wire frame is automatically expandable from a compressed state (providing a reduced cannula diameter as it is moved through a patients body to the site at which it is to be deployed) to an expanded state (which increases the diameter of the cannula to the diameter intended for its normal use). The expanded wire frame provides radial support to prevent a drainage canal (whether a patients blood vessel or a portion of the system inserted into the patients blood vessel) from collapsing as fluid is drained from the patient.

Self-expanding cannula

The present invention discloses a self-sealing cannula that through a self-sealing mechanism fixed on the ventricular wall or atrial wall, the cannula body is attached to the self-sealing fixture and blood is drawn into the lumen via an external pump and returned to the circulation system through a separate cannula; in the case of the double lumen cannula embodiment, the blood will be drawn into the drainage lumen of the double lumen cannula and returned through an infusion lumen at the desired location.

A method for pumping and oxygenating blood includes receiving a flow of gas including oxygen into a gas inlet manifold via a gas inlet. The flow of gas is passed through the hollow fibers from the gas inlet manifold to a gas outlet manifold. The flow of gas is output from the gas outlet manifold via a gas outlet. An impeller is rotated to generate a flow of blood that flows over the hollow fibers. Oxygen from the flow of gas is transferred to the flow of blood through the hollow fibers. Carbon dioxide is transferred from the flow of blood to the flow of gas through the hollow fibers.

Integrated centrifugal blood pump-oxygenator, an extracorporeal life support system and a method of de-bubbling and priming an extracorporeal life support system

An integrated centrifugal blood pump-oxygenator () which has a housing () with a top () having a blood inlet (), a blood outlet () and a gas inlet (), and a bottom () having a rotational body () being rotatably arranged in a rotor-housing () of the bottom (). The integrated centrifugal blood pump-oxygenator () further has an oxygenator membrane () provided in an interior () of the housing (), wherein in the operation state oxygen () is transferred from the gas inlet () through the oxygenator membrane () to a gas outlet () and blood () is brought in direct contact with the oxygenator membrane () by pumping the blood () with the rotational body () from the blood inlet () to the blood outlet (). The rotational body () is magnetically journalled in a contact-free manner with respect to the rotor-housing (). There is an extracorporeal life support system (), and a method of de-bubbling and priming a extracorporeal life support system ().

Growing community of inventors

Marriottsville, MD, United States of America

Zhongjun Wu