Patent Grant
11806116
Some applications of the present invention generally relate to medical apparatus. Specifically, some applications of the present invention relate to a ventricular assist device and methods of use thereof.
Ventricular assist devices are mechanical circulatory support devices designed to assist and unload cardiac chambers in order to maintain or augment cardiac output. They are used in patients suffering from a failing heart and in patients at risk for deterioration of cardiac function during percutaneous coronary interventions. Most commonly a left-ventricular assist device is applied to a defective heart in order to assist left-ventricular functioning. In some cases, a right-ventricular assist device is used in order to assist right-ventricular functioning. Such assist devices are either designed to be permanently implanted or mounted on a catheter for temporary placement.
In accordance with some applications of the present invention, a ventricular assist device includes an impeller disposed upon an axial shaft, with a frame disposed around the impeller. The ventricular assist device typically includes a tube, which traverses the subject's aortic valve, such that a proximal end of the tube is disposed in the subject's aorta and a distal end of the tube is disposed within the subject's left ventricle. The impeller, the axial shaft and the frame are disposed within a distal portion of the tube inside the subject's left ventricle. Typically, the impeller is configured to pump blood from the left ventricle into the aorta by rotating. The tube typically defines one or more blood inlet openings at the distal end of the tube, via which blood flows into the tube from the left ventricle, during operation of the impeller. For some applications, the proximal portion of the tube defines one or more blood outlet openings, via which blood flows from the tube into the ascending aorta, during operation of the impeller.
For some applications, the impeller includes proximal and distal bushings, and the frame includes proximal and distal bearings. The axial shaft typically passes through the proximal and distal bearings of the frame and the proximal and distal bushings of the impeller. For some applications, (a) the proximal bushing of the impeller is coupled to the axial shaft, such that the proximal bushing is held in an axially-fixed position with respect to the axial shaft, and (b) the distal bushing of the impeller is not coupled to the axial shaft, such that the distal bushing is not held in an axially-fixed position with respect to the axial shaft. Typically, the impeller defines a radially-constrained configuration in which the impeller is introduced into the subject's body and a non-radially-constrained configuration in which the impeller is configured to pump blood within the subject's body. For some applications, the impeller changes from its radially-constrained configuration to its non-radially-constrained configuration by the distal bushing sliding over the axial shaft.
Typically, the axial shaft is not held in an axially-fixed position with respect to the proximal and distal bearings. Further typically, the ventricular assist device (and/or a blood pump portion thereof) does not include any thrust bearing configured to be disposed within the subject's body. For some applications, the ventricular assist device includes one or more thrust bearings that are disposed outside the subject's body, and opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller is provided solely by the one or more thrust bearings disposed outside the subject's body.
For some applications, a motor drives the impeller to pump blood from the left ventricle to the aorta, by rotating the impeller, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial motion with respect to the frame, in response to the pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta changing. For some applications, a computer processor measures an indication of the axial motion of the impeller. For some applications, the computer processor derives the subject's cardiac cycle, the pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta, and/or left-ventricular pressure of the subject, based upon the measured indication of the axial motion of the impeller. For some applications, the computer processor changes a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. For example, the computer processor may determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and may change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure. For some applications, the computer processor reduces the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased. For some applications, the impeller is coupled to a magnet such that axial motion of the impeller causes the magnet to undergo axial motion, and the computer processor measures the indication of the axial motion of the impeller by measuring magnetic flux generated by the magnet.
Typically, a drive cable extends from outside the subject's body to the axial shaft, and is configured to impart rotational motion from the motor to the impeller by rotating, such that the impeller pumps blood from the left ventricle to the aorta by rotating a given direction. For some applications, at least a portion of the drive cable includes a plurality of wires disposed in a coiled configuration that is such that, in response to the drive cable rotating in the given direction of rotation, the plurality of wires disposed in the coiled configuration at least partially unwind, such that the portion of the drive cable shortens axially. For some applications, an outer tube is disposed around the drive cable, and frictional forces between the outer tube and the drive cable are such as to typically generate debris. Alternatively or additionally, a fluid (e.g., a purging fluid) is disposed between the outer tube and the drive cable. For some such applications, at least a portion of the drive cable is configured such that the plurality of wires disposed in the coiled configuration are configured to pump the debris and/or the fluid toward the proximal end of the drive cable.
For some applications, the drive cable includes a first portion configured to be disposed at least partially within an aortic arch of the subject, and a second portion configured to be disposed at least partially within a descending aorta of the subject, and the flexibility of the first portion is greater than the flexibility of the second portion. For example, the first portion of the drive cable may include a first number of wires disposed in a coiled configuration, and the second portion of the drive cable may include a second number of wires disposed in a coiled configuration, and the first number is lower than the second number. For example, the first portion of the drive cable may include between 4 and 8 wires disposed in a coiled configuration, and the second portion of the drive cable may include between 8 and 12 wires disposed in a coiled configuration.
For some applications, the impeller includes at least one helical elongate element (and typically, three helical elongate elements), and a spring that is disposed inside of the helical elongate element, and along an axis around which the helical elongate element winds. Typically, a film of material (e.g., silicone) is supported between the helical elongate element and the spring. For some applications, at least one elongate element (e.g., a string or a wire) extends from the spring to the helical elongate element and is configured to maintain the helical elongate element within a given distance from the spring.
As described hereinabove, for some applications, a frame is disposed around the impeller. For some applications, the ventricular assist device includes a stator that includes a plurality of curved projections that are coupled to a proximal end of the frame. Typically, the curvature of the curved projections opposes the direction of rotation of the impeller. For some applications, the curvature of the curved projections is such that, from distal ends of the curved projections to proximal ends of the curved projections, the curved projections become progressively closer to being parallel with the longitudinal axis of the frame. Typically, the curved projections comprise a plurality of curved struts that are integral with the frame, and a flexible material (e.g., silicone) that extends from the curved struts. For some applications, the flexible material is shaped to define a lumen therethrough.
As described hereinabove, typically the impeller is disposed within a tube (which is sometimes referred to herein as a “blood-pump tube”) that extends from the subject's left ventricle to the subject's aorta. For some applications, at least one blood-pressure-measurement tube, which defines an opening at its distal end, extends to at least an outer surface of the blood-pump tube, such that the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is in direct fluid communication with the subject's bloodstream outside the blood-pump tube. A pressure sensor measures pressure of blood within the blood-pressure-measurement tube. For some applications, the blood-pressure-measurement tube is configured to pass along an outer surface of the blood-pump tube from the proximal end of the blood-pump tube until the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube. Typically, the blood-pressure-measurement tube is a left-ventricular blood-pressure measurement tube that is configured to extend to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube at a location along the blood-pump tube that is configured to be within the subject's left ventricle proximal to the impeller, and the pressure sensor is configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Typically, the blood-pump tube defines one or more blood inlet openings within the distal portion of the blood-pump tube, and one or more blood outlet openings within a proximal portion of the blood-pump tube. For some applications, the ventricular assist device includes a radially-expandable atraumatic distal tip portion configured to be disposed within the subject's left ventricle distally with respect to the one or more blood inlet openings. The distal tip portion is typically configured to be inserted into the left ventricle in a radially-constrained configuration, and to assume a non-radially-constrained configuration within the subject's left ventricle in which at least a radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion is radially expanded relative to the radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion. Typically, in its non-radially-constrained configuration, the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion separates the one or more blood inlet openings from inner structures of the left ventricle, such as the interventricular septum, chordae tendineae, papillary muscles, and/or the apex of the left ventricle. Further typically, in its non-radially-constrained configuration, the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion separates the one or more blood inlet openings from the inner structures of the left ventricle in three dimensions. For some applications, in its non-radially-constrained configuration, the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion directs blood flow from the left ventricle into the one or more blood inlet openings.
For some applications, in the radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion, a distal region of the distal tip portion is configured to be least semi-rigid, and is shaped to radially converge along a longitudinal direction toward a distal end of the distal tip portion. Typically, the ventricular assist device is configured to be inserted into the subject's body via a puncture in the subject's body. For some applications, during the insertion of the ventricular assist device, the distal region of the distal tip portion is configured to act as a dilator by dilating the puncture.
In general, in the specification and in the claims of the present application, the term “proximal” and related terms, when used with reference to a device or a portion thereof, should be interpreted to mean an end of the device or the portion thereof that, when inserted into a subject's body, is typically closer to a location through which the device is inserted into the subject's body. The term “distal” and related terms, when used with reference to a device or a portion thereof, should be interpreted to mean an end of the device or the portion thereof that, when inserted into a subject's body, is typically further from the location through which the device is inserted into the subject's body.
The scope of the present invention includes using the apparatus and methods described herein in anatomical locations other than the left ventricle and the aorta. Therefore, the ventricular assist device and/or portions thereof are sometimes referred to herein (in the specification and the claims) as a blood pump.
There is therefore provided, in accordance with some applications of the present invention, apparatus including:
a blood pump configured to be placed inside a body of subject, the blood pump including:
In some applications, the impeller is configured to be placed inside a left ventricle of the subject, and to pump blood from the subject's left ventricle to an aorta of the subject. In some applications, the impeller is configured to be placed inside a right ventricle of the subject, and to pump blood from the subject's right ventricle to a pulmonary artery of the subject. In some applications, the impeller is configured to be placed inside a blood vessel of the subject. In some applications, the impeller is configured to be placed inside a cardiac chamber of the subject.
In some applications, the impeller includes:
at least one helical elongate element that extends from the proximal bushing to the distal bushing;
a spring that is disposed inside of the helical elongate element, and along an axis around which the helical elongate element winds;
a film of material supported between the helical elongate element and the spring; and
at least one flexible elongate element extending from the spring to the helical elongate element and configured to maintain the helical elongate element within a given distance from the spring, the at least one flexible elongate element being selected from the group consisting of: a string and a wire.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes a delivery catheter,
the delivery catheter is configured to maintain the impeller in its radially-constrained configuration during introduction of the impeller into the subject's body,
upon the impeller being released from the delivery catheter, the impeller is configured to self-expand to thereby cause the distal bushing to slide over the axial shaft proximally, such that the impeller assumes its non-radially-constrained configuration, and
in order to retract the impeller from the subject's body, the delivery catheter is configured to cause the impeller to assume its radially-constrained configuration by a distal end of the delivery catheter and the impeller being moved with respect to one another such that the distal end of the delivery catheter causes the distal bushing to slide over the axial shaft distally.
There is further provided, in accordance with some applications of the present invention, apparatus including:
a ventricular assist device including:
In some applications:
the impeller includes proximal and distal bushings;
the frame includes proximal and distal bearings; and
the ventricular assist device further includes an axial shaft configured to pass through the proximal and distal bearings defined by the frame and the proximal and distal bushings of the impeller, the axial shaft:
In some applications, the ventricular assist device does not include any thrust bearing configured to be disposed within a body of the subject.
In some applications, the ventricular assist device further includes one or more thrust bearings configured to be disposed outside a body of the subject, and wherein opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller is provided solely by the one or more thrust bearings disposed outside the subject's body.
In some applications,
the motor is configured to drive the impeller to pump blood from the subject's left ventricle to the subject's aorta, by rotating the impeller in a given direction of rotation; and
the ventricular assist device further includes:
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a sensor configured to detect an indication of axial motion of the impeller, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a magnet, the impeller being coupled to the magnet such that axial motion of the impeller causes the magnet to undergo axial motion;
a sensor configured to detect magnetic flux generated by the magnet, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications:
the impeller includes proximal and distal bushings;
the frame includes proximal and distal bearings;
the ventricular assist device further includes an axial shaft configured to pass through the proximal and distal bearings of the frame and the proximal and distal bushings of the impeller;
the impeller is coupled to the axial shaft such that the impeller causes the axial shaft to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame.
In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to clean interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame. In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to reduce a build-up of heat at interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, relative to if the axial shaft did not undergo the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame.
There is further provided, in accordance with some applications of the present invention, apparatus including:
a blood pump including:
In some applications, the blood pump does not include any thrust bearing configured to be disposed within the subject's body. In some applications, wherein the blood pump further includes one or more thrust bearings configured to be disposed outside the subject's body, and wherein opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller is provided solely by the one or more thrust bearings disposed outside the subject's body.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a sensor configured to detect an indication of axial motion of the impeller, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a magnet, the impeller being coupled to the magnet such that axial motion of the impeller causes the magnet to undergo axial motion;
a sensor configured to detect magnetic flux generated by the magnet, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a first location within the subject's body to a second location within the subject's body, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the first location and the second location. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a left ventricle of the subject to an aorta of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right ventricle of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right atrium of the subject to a right ventricle of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right atrium and the right ventricle. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a vena cava of the subject to a right ventricle of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the vena cava and the right ventricle. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right atrium of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right atrium and the pulmonary artery. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a vena cava of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the vena cava and the pulmonary artery.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a motor configured to drive the impeller to pump blood through the subject's body, by rotating the impeller in a given direction of rotation; and
a drive cable configured to extend from outside a body of the subject to the axial shaft, the drive cable being configured to impart rotational motion from the motor to the impeller by rotating, at least a portion of the drive cable including a plurality of wires disposed in a coiled configuration that is such that, in response to the drive cable rotating in the given direction of rotation, the plurality of wires disposed in the coiled configuration at least partially unwind, such that the portion of the drive cable shortens axially.
In some applications, the impeller is coupled to the axial shaft such that the impeller causes the axial shaft to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame. In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to clean interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame. In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to reduce a build-up of heat at interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, relative to if the axial shaft did not undergo the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame.
There is further provided, in accordance with some applications of the present invention, apparatus including:
a blood pump including:
In some applications, the blood pump further includes one or more thrust bearings configured to be disposed outside the subject's body, and opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller is provided solely by the one or more thrust bearings disposed outside the subject's body.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a sensor configured to detect an indication of axial motion of the impeller, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a magnet, the impeller being coupled to the magnet such that axial motion of the impeller causes the magnet to undergo axial motion;
a sensor configured to detect magnetic flux generated by the magnet, and to generate a sensor signal in response thereto; and
a computer processor configured to receive the sensor signal and to generate an output in response thereto.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to generate an output indicating a cardiac cycle of the subject, in response to receiving the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal. In some applications, the computer processor is configured to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the sensor signal.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
In some applications, the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a first location within the subject's body to a second location within the subject's body, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the first location and the second location. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a left ventricle of the subject to an aorta of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right ventricle of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right atrium of the subject to a right ventricle of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right atrium and the right ventricle. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a vena cava of the subject to a right ventricle of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the vena cava and the right ventricle. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a right atrium of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the right atrium and the pulmonary artery. In some applications, the impeller is configured to pump blood from a vena cava of the subject to a pulmonary artery of the subject, and the impeller is configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the vena cava and the pulmonary artery.
In some applications, the apparatus further includes:
a motor configured to drive the impeller to pump blood through the subject's body, by rotating the impeller in a given direction of rotation;
an axial shaft, the impeller being coupled to the axial shaft; and
a drive cable configured to extend from outside a body of the subject to the axial shaft, the drive cable being configured to impart rotational motion from the motor to the impeller by rotating, at least a portion of the drive cable including a plurality of wires disposed in a coiled configuration that is such that, in response to the drive cable rotating in the given direction of rotation, the plurality of wires disposed in the coiled configuration at least partially unwind, such that the portion of the drive cable shortens axially.
In some applications:
the impeller includes proximal and distal bushings;
the frame includes proximal and distal bearings;
the apparatus further includes an axial shaft that:
In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to clean interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame. In some applications, the axial shaft is configured to reduce a build-up of heat at interfaces between the axial shaft and the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, by undergoing the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame, relative to if the axial shaft did not undergo the axial back-and-forth motion with respect to the proximal and distal bearings of the frame.
There is further provided, in accordance with some applications of the present invention, the following inventive concepts:
Inventive concept 1. Apparatus comprising:
an impeller comprising:
placing into a body of a subject an impeller that includes:
pumping blood through the subject's body by rotating the impeller, the flexible elongate element maintaining the helical elongate element within a given distance from the spring, during the rotation of the impeller.
Inventive concept 10. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing an impeller of a blood pump inside a cardiac chamber of a subject, with a frame disposed around the impeller; and
driving the impeller to pump blood from the cardiac chamber to a blood vessel of the subject, by rotating the impeller,
placement of the impeller inside the cardiac chamber being such that the impeller is allowed to undergo axial motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the cardiac chamber and the blood vessel.
Inventive concept 12. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
the impeller being configured to undergo axial motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the first blood vessel and the second blood vessel.
Inventive concept 13. A method comprising:
placing an impeller of a blood pump inside a first blood vessel of a subject, with a frame disposed around the impeller; and
driving the impeller to pump blood from the first blood vessel to a second blood vessel of the subject, by rotating the impeller,
placement of the impeller inside the first blood vessel being such that the impeller is allowed to undergo axial motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the cardiac chamber and the blood vessel.
Inventive concept 14. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing an impeller of a blood pump inside a body of a subject, with a frame disposed around the impeller; and
driving the impeller to pump blood through the subject's body, by rotating the impeller, opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller being provided solely by one or more thrust bearings disposed outside the subject's body.
Inventive concept 16. Apparatus comprising:
a blood-pump tube;
a blood pump configured to be disposed within the blood-pump tube, and to pump blood through the blood-pump tube;
at least one blood-pressure-measurement tube that defines an opening at a distal end thereof, and that is configured to extend to at least an outer surface of the blood-pump tube, such that the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is in direct fluid communication with a bloodstream of the subject outside the blood-pump tube; and
at least one pressure sensor configured to measure pressure of the bloodstream of the subject outside the blood-pump tube by measuring pressure of blood within the blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 17. The apparatus according to inventive concept 16, wherein the blood pump comprises an impeller that is configured to pump blood through the blood-pump tube, by rotating.
Inventive concept 18. The apparatus according to inventive concept 16, wherein the blood-pressure-measurement tube is configured to pass along an outer surface of the blood-pump tube from the proximal end of the blood-pump tube until the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 19. The apparatus according to inventive concept 16, further comprising at least one computer processor that is configured to receive an indication of the blood pressure measured within the blood-pressure-measurement tube and to control the pumping of blood by the blood pump in response to the blood pressure measured within the blood-pump tube.
Inventive concept 20. The apparatus according to any one of inventive concepts 16-19, wherein the at least one blood-pressure measurement tube comprises at least one left-ventricular blood-pressure measurement tube that is configured to extend to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube at a location along the tube that is configured to be within the subject's left ventricle proximal to the blood pump, and wherein the pressure sensor is configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 21. The apparatus according to inventive concept 20, wherein the at least one blood-pressure measurement tube comprises two or more left-ventricular blood-pressure measurement tubes that are configured to extend to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube at locations along the blood-pump tube that are configured to be within the subject's left ventricle proximal to the blood pump, and wherein the at least one pressure sensor is configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within at least one of the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tubes.
Inventive concept 22. The apparatus according to inventive concept 21,
wherein the at least one pressure sensor is configured to measure pressure of blood within each of the two or more left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tubes,
the apparatus further comprising at least one computer processor that is configured:
wherein the at least one pressure sensor is configured to measure pressure of blood within each of the two or more aortic blood-pressure-measurement tubes,
the apparatus further comprising at least one computer processor that is configured:
a motor disposed outside the subject's body, and configured to drive the impeller to rotate;
a drive cable extending from outside the subject's body to the axial shaft, and configured to impart rotational motion from the motor to the impeller, by rotating; and
an outer tube configured to extend from outside the subject's body to within the blood-pump tube,
wherein the at least one blood-pressure measurement tube comprises at least one left-ventricular blood-pressure measurement tube that is configured to extend to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube at a location along the blood-pump tube that is configured to be within the subject's left ventricle proximal to the blood pump, and wherein the at least one pressure sensor is configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tube;
the apparatus further comprising an aortic blood-pressure-measurement tube that defines an opening at a distal end thereof, and that is configured to extend from outside the subject's body to an outer surface of the outer tube within an aorta of the subject, such that the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is in direct fluid communication with an aortic bloodstream of the subject;
wherein the at least one pressure sensor is further configured to measure aortic pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the aortic blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 31. The apparatus according to inventive concept 29,
wherein the at least one blood-pressure measurement tube comprises at least one left-ventricular blood-pressure measurement tube that is configured to extend to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube at a location along the blood-pump tube that is configured to be within the subject's left ventricle proximal to the blood pump, and wherein the at least one pressure sensor is configured to measure left-ventricular pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the left-ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tube;
the apparatus further comprising an aortic blood-pressure-measurement tube that defines an opening at a distal end thereof, and that is configured to extend from outside the subject's body to a portion of an outer surface of the outer tube that is disposed within the blood-pump tube, such that the opening at the distal end of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is in direct fluid communication with an aortic bloodstream of the subject;
wherein the at least one pressure sensor is further configured to measure aortic pressure of the subject by measuring pressure of blood within the aortic blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 32. The apparatus according to inventive concept 29, wherein the outer tube defines a groove in a portion of an outer surface of the outer tube that is configured to be disposed within the blood-pump tube, and wherein, during insertion of the ventricular assist device into the subject's body, a portion of the blood-pressure-measurement tube that is configured to extend from within the blood-pump tube to the outer surface of the blood-pump tube is configured to be disposed within the groove, such that the portion of the blood-pressure-measurement tube does not protrude from the outer surface of the outer tube.
Inventive concept 33. The apparatus according to inventive concept 28, wherein a diameter of the blood-pressure-measurement tube at least within a distal portion of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is less than 0.5 mm.
Inventive concept 34. The apparatus according to inventive concept 33, wherein the diameter of the blood-pressure-measurement tube at least within the distal portion of the blood-pressure-measurement tube is more than 0.2 mm.
Inventive concept 35. A method comprising:
placing into a body of a subject:
pumping blood through the blood-pump tube, using the blood pump; and
measuring pressure of the bloodstream of the subject outside the blood-pump tube by measuring pressure of blood within the blood-pressure-measurement tube.
Inventive concept 36. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing a blood pump into a subject's body, the blood pump including:
pumping blood through the tube using the impeller, the stator reducing rotational flow components from blood flow generated by rotation of the impeller.
Inventive concept 41. Apparatus comprising:
a ventricular assist device comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing a blood pump into a body of a subject, the blood pump including:
driving the impeller to pump blood from a distal end of the impeller to a proximal end of the impeller by imparting rotational motion the impeller via the drive cable, at least a portion of the drive cable comprising a plurality of wires disposed in a coiled configuration that is such that, in response to the drive cable rotating in the given direction of rotation, the plurality of wires disposed in the coiled configuration at least partially unwind, such that the portion of the drive cable shortens axially.
Inventive concept 49. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing a blood pump into a body of a subject, the blood pump including:
driving the impeller to pump blood from a distal end of the impeller to a proximal end of the impeller by imparting rotational motion the impeller via the drive cable, at least a portion of the drive cable comprising a plurality of wires disposed in a coiled configuration that is such that, in response to the drive cable rotating in the given direction of rotation, the plurality of wires are configured to pump the fluid toward the proximal end of the drive cable.
Inventive concept 51. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
to determine left-ventricular pressure of the subject, at least partially based upon the sensor signal, and
to change a rate of rotation of the impeller, at least partially based upon the determined left-ventricular pressure.
Inventive concept 56. The apparatus according to inventive concept 55, wherein the computer processor is configured to reduce the rate of rotation of the impeller, in response to determining that the subject's left-ventricular pressure has decreased.
Inventive concept 57. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing a blood pump inside a body of a subject, the blood pump including an impeller;
driving the impeller to pump blood by rotating the impeller, the impeller being configured to undergo axial motion, in response to changes in a pressure difference against which the impeller is pumping the blood;
detecting an indication of the axial motion of the impeller, and generating a sensor signal in response thereto; and
receiving the sensor signal, and generating an output in response thereto.
Inventive concept 59. Apparatus comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
a computer processor configured to drive a motor unit to, simultaneously, (a) drive the impeller to pump blood through the subject's body, by driving the impeller to rotate, and (b) drive the impeller to move axially within the frame in a back-and-forth motion.
Inventive concept 60. A method comprising:
placing, into a body of a subject, a blood pump that includes an impeller and a frame, such that the frame is disposed around the impeller; and
simultaneously:
a blood pump comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
placing, into a subject's body, a blood pump that includes:
a blood pump comprising:
placing, into a subject's body, a blood pump that includes:
a blood pump comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
a blood pump comprising:
a ventricular assist device comprising:
in the radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion, a distal region of the distal tip portion is configured to be least semi-rigid, and is shaped to radially converge along a longitudinal direction toward a distal end of the distal tip portion;
the ventricular assist device is configured to be inserted into the subject's body via a puncture, in the subject's body, and
during the insertion of the ventricular assist device the distal region of the distal tip portion is configured to act as a dilator by dilating the puncture.
Inventive concept 80. The apparatus according to any one of inventive concepts 71-78, wherein the distal tip portion is configured such that in the non-radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion, a distal end of the distal tip portion is enveloped within the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion.
Inventive concept 81. The apparatus according to inventive concept 80, wherein the distal tip portion is configured to prevent the distal end of the distal tip portion becoming entangled with chordae tendineae of the left ventricle by the distal end of the distal tip portion being enveloped within the radially expanded portion of the distal tip.
Inventive concept 82. The apparatus according to inventive concept 80, wherein the distal tip portion is configured to prevent the distal end of the distal tip portion causing trauma to an internal structure of the left ventricle by the distal end of the distal tip portion being enveloped within the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion.
Inventive concept 83. The apparatus according to inventive concept 80, wherein the distal end of the distal tip portion is configured to be enveloped within the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion, by the distal end of the distal tip portion inverting.
Inventive concept 84. The apparatus according to inventive concept 80, wherein the distal end of the distal tip portion is configured to be enveloped within the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion, by the distal end of the distal tip portion being retracted proximally, such that the distal end is disposed within the radially-expandable portion of the distal tip portion.
Inventive concept 85. Apparatus comprising:
a ventricular assist device configured to be inserted into a subject's body via a puncture, the ventricular assist device comprising:
operating a blood pump, the blood pump including:
while operating the blood pump, pumping fluid into a space between the drive cable and the tube, such that the fluid fills the space between the drive cable and the tube, but without releasing the fluid into a bloodstream of the subject.
Inventive concept 87. A method comprising:
operating a blood pump, the blood pump including:
prior to operating the blood pump, pumping fluid into a space between the drive cable and the tube, such that the fluid fills the space between the drive cable and the tube, but without releasing the fluid into a bloodstream of the subject; and
leaving the fluid within the space between the drive cable and the tube, during the operation of the blood pump.
Inventive concept 88. Apparatus comprising:
a left-ventricular assist device configured to assist left-ventricular functioning of a subject, the left ventricular assist device comprising:
an impeller;
a frame disposed around the impeller,
a coupling element comprising a first portion disposed upon the impeller, and a second portion disposed on the frame and configured to engage with the first portion, the coupling element being configured to facilitate radial constriction of the impeller by holding an end of the impeller such that the impeller can be axially elongated, without radially constricting the frame.
Inventive concept 93. Apparatus comprising:
a blood-pump tube;
an impeller configured to be disposed within the blood-pump tube, and to pump blood from a first location to a second location by pumping blood through the blood-pump tube:
a motor disposed outside the subject's body, and configured to drive the impeller to rotate;
a drive cable extending from outside the subject's body to the axial shaft, and configured to impart rotational motion from the motor to the impeller, by rotating;
an outer tube disposed around the drive cable configured to extend from outside the subject's body to within the blood-pump tube, the outer tube defining first and second openings on a portion of the outer tube disposed within the blood-pump tube; and
a flow obstacle disposed over the first opening, such that the first opening is configured to function as a stagnation pressure tap, and the second opening is configured to function as a static pressure tap;
at least one pressure sensor configured to measure pressure within the stagnation pressure tap and pressure within the static pressure tap; and
a computer processor configured to determine flow through the blood-pump tube, at least partially based upon the pressure measured within the stagnation pressure tap and the pressure measured within the static pressure tap.
Inventive concept 94. A method comprising:
inserting a blood pump into a body of subject, the blood pump including:
when the impeller is disposed within the subject's body, causing the impeller to change from its radially-constrained configuration to a non-radially-constrained configuration by allowing the distal bushing to slide over the axial shaft, by releasing the impeller from the catheter; and
pumping blood through the subject's body using the impeller, while the impeller is disposed in its non-radially-constrained configuration.
Inventive concept 95. A method comprising:
placing an impeller of a ventricular assist device inside a left ventricle of a subject, with a frame disposed around the impeller; and
driving the impeller to pump blood from the left ventricle to an aorta of the subject, by rotating the impeller,
placement of the impeller inside the left ventricle being such that the impeller is allowed to undergo axial motion with respect to the frame, in response to cyclical changes in a pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta.
Inventive concept 96. A method comprising:
placing a blood pump inside a body of a subject the blood pump including:
pumping blood through the subject's body, using the impeller.
Inventive concept 97. A method comprising:
placing an impeller of a blood pump inside a body of a subject, with a frame disposed around the impeller; and
driving the impeller to pump blood through the subject's body, without using any thrust bearing disposed within the subject's body to provide opposition to thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings, in which:
Reference is now made to
As shown in
Reference is also made to
For some applications, a control console 21, which typically includes a computer processor 25 (shown in
For some applications, a purging system 29 drives a fluid (e.g., a glucose solution) to pass through portions of ventricular assist device 20, for example, in order to cool portions of the device and/or in order to wash debris from portions of the device. Purging system 29 is described in further detail hereinbelow.
Typically, along distal portion 102 of tube 24, a frame 34 is disposed within the tube. The frame is typically made of a shape-memory alloy, such as nitinol. For some applications, the shape-memory alloy of the frame is shape set such that the frame (and thereby the tube) assumes a generally circular, elliptical, or polygonal cross-sectional shape in the absence of any forces being applied to the tube. By assuming its generally circular, elliptical, or polygonal cross-sectional shape, the frame is configured to hold the distal portion of the tube in an open state. Typically, during operation of the ventricular assist device, the distal portion of the tube is configured to be placed within the subject's body, such that the distal portion of the tube is disposed at least partially within the left ventricle.
For some applications (not shown), during operation of the ventricular assist device, the distal portion of the tube is disposed at least partially within the native aortic valve and the frame is configured to hold open the aortic valve, by assuming its generally circular, elliptical, or polygonal cross-sectional shape. For some applications, tube 24 is sized such as to prevent the shape-memory alloy of frame 34 from fully assuming the dimensions to which the shape-memory alloy was shape set. In this manner, the frame is “pre-tensioned,” such that even if the aortic valve applies a radially compressive force to the tube and the frame, the frame does not become radially compressed, since the frame is already being maintained in a partial radially-constrained state by the tube. For some applications, the frame includes a plurality of rigid struts 111 that are disposed in parallel to each other, and in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the frame. The rigid struts are configured such that at least a portion 110 of the frame along which the struts are disposed maintains a substantially straight longitudinal axis, even when subjected to anatomical forces within the left ventricle and/or the aortic valve. Typically, rigid struts are configured such that even as frame 34 changes from a radially-constrained configuration (in which the frame is typically disposed during introduction of the frame into the subject's body) to a non-radially-constrained configuration (in which the frame is typically disposed during operation of the ventricular assist device), the lengths of the rigid struts do not change.
For some applications, along a proximal portion 106 of tube 24, the frame is not disposed within the tube, and the tube is therefore not supported in an open state by frame 34. Tube 24 is typically made of a blood-impermeable collapsible material. For example, tube 24 may include polyurethane, polyester, and/or silicone. Typically, the proximal portion of the tube is configured to be placed such that it is at least partially disposed within the subject's ascending aorta. For some applications, the proximal portion of the tube traverses the subject's aortic valve, passing from the subject's left ventricle into the subject's ascending aorta, as shown in
For some applications, computer processor 25 of control console 21 (shown in
Typically, pumping of blood by the impeller increases aortic pressure and reduces left-ventricular pressure. Once flow through tube 24 reaches a critical value above which aortic pressure is higher than left-ventricular pressure even in ventricular systole (hereinafter “systole”), the aortic valve remains closed around the outside of tube 24 throughout the cardiac cycle and flow from the ventricle to the aorta occurs exclusively via the tube. Typically, above this point of uncoupling aortic from ventricular pressure, the left ventricle no longer performs net external work (defined as volume change times pressure change), as it is not moving any volume. In this mode, oxygen consumption by the left ventricle depends on cyclic pressure generation against a closed aortic valve, wall tension that results from the size of the left ventricle, wall thickness, as well as baseline metabolic demands (including calcium cycling). Below this critical point of impeller activity, the aortic valve is typically at least partially open in systole and left ventricular outflow will occur both between the outside of the tube and the aortic valve (by virtue of left ventricular contraction) as well as through the tube (by virtue of the impeller rotating and pumping). For a given number of impeller revolutions per minute, flow through the tube will typically be greater the larger the cross-sectional area of the sleeve. At the same time, the larger the cross-sectional area of the tube, the more space the tube occupies within the left ventricular outflow tract, the smaller the remaining outflow area, and consequently, the higher the outflow resistance the left ventricle has to overcome for pumping around the outside of the tube.
Hence, typically, a trade-off exists between the efficiency of the impeller in assisting the left ventricle (which favorably increases with tube diameter) and the residual resistance to outflow around the outside of the tube 24 (which unfavorably increases with tube diameter). The higher the flow through the tube provided by the impeller (for a given tube diameter), the less the effect of the reduced cross-sectional outflow area on effective outflow resistance may matter, as the remaining cross-sectional area may be appropriate for the residual small stroke volume that the ventricle has to eject, i.e., the reduced residual outflow tract area may not pose an undue resistance to outflow. Conversely, however, once a fixed tube diameter is selected, effective resistance to outflow increases as flow through the tube decreases, since a larger proportion of left ventricular stroke volume now needs to pass the residual outflow tract area around the tube. Therefore, for some applications, left ventricular outflow resistance is configured to automatically adjust in order to compensate for changes in the blood flow through the tube that is generated by the impeller. For example, the tube may be made of a compliant material, the compliance of which is such that a decrease in flow through the tube, and the subsequent drop in distending pressure, results in a decrease in sleeve diameter, thereby increasing the outflow area available for the left ventricle. Typically, the material properties of the compliant material are defined such that (a) maximum tube expansion is reached just at, or close to, the point when the pump-flow-generated intraluminal pressure exceeds aortic pressure (irrespective of the point in the cardiac cycle) and hence remains above left-ventricular pressure throughout the cardiac cycle, and (b) full collapse of the tube is reached when flow through the tube that is generated by the impeller becomes zero.
Referring now to
Referring to
Typically, tube 24 includes a conical proximal portion 42 and a cylindrical central portion 44. The proximal conical portion is typically such that the narrow end of the cone is proximal with respect to the wide end of the cone. As described hereinabove, for some applications, the tube extends to the end of distal conical portion 40 of frame 34. For such applications, the tube typically defines a distal conical portion 46, with the narrow end of the cone being distal with respect to the wide end of the cone, as shown in
Reference is now made to
Each of the helical elongate elements, together with the film extending from the helical elongate element to the spring, defines a respective impeller blade, with the helical elongate elements defining the outer edges of the blades, and the axial spring defining the axis of the impeller. Typically, the film of material extends along and coats the spring. For some applications, sutures 53 (e.g., polyester sutures, shown in
Typically, proximal ends of spring 54 and helical elongate elements 52 extend from a proximal bushing (i.e., sleeve bearing) 64 of the impeller, such that the proximal ends of spring 54 and helical elongate elements 52 are disposed at a similar radial distance from the longitudinal axis of the impeller, as each other. Similarly, typically, distal ends of spring 54 and helical elongate elements 52 extend from a distal bushing 58 of the impeller, such that the distal ends of spring 54 and helical elongate elements 52 are disposed at a similar radial distance from the longitudinal axis of the impeller, as each other. Typically, spring 54, as well as proximal bushing 64 and distal bushing 58 of the impeller, define a lumen 62 therethrough.
Reference is now made to
For some applications, the gap G between the outer edge of the impeller and the inner surface of frame 34, at the location at which the span of the impeller is at its maximum, is greater than 0.05 min (e.g., greater than 0.1 mm), and/or less than 1 mm (e.g., less than 0.4 mm), e.g., 0.05 mm-1 mm, or 0.1 mm-0.4 mm. For some applications, the outer diameter of the impeller at the location at which the outer diameter of the impeller is at its maximum is more than 6 mm (e.g., more than 6.5 mm), and/or less than 8 mm (e.g., less than 7 mm), e.g., 6-8 mm, or 6.5-7 mm. For some applications, the inner diameter of frame 34 is more than 6.5 mm (e.g. more than 7 mm), and/or less than 8.5 mm (e.g., less than 7.5 mm), e.g., 6.5-8.5 mm, or 7-7.5 mm.
Typically, an axial shaft 92 passes through the axis of impeller 50, via lumen 62 of the impeller. Typically, proximal bushing 64 of the impeller is coupled to the shaft such that the axial position of the proximal bushing with respect to the shaft is fixed, and distal bushing 58 of the impeller is slidable with respect to the shaft. The axial shaft itself is radially stabilized via a proximal radial bearing 116 and a distal radial bearing 118, defined by frame 34. In turn, the axial shaft, by passing through lumen 62 defined by the impeller, radially stabilizes the impeller with respect to the inner surface of frame 34, such that even a relatively small gap between the outer edge of the blade of the impeller and the inner surface of frame 34 (e.g., a gap that is as described above) is maintained, during rotation of the impeller.
Referring again to
For some applications, the elongate elements 67 maintain the helical elongate element (which defines the outer edge of the impeller blade) within a given distance with respect to the central axial spring. In this manner, the elongate elements are configured to prevent the outer edge of the impeller from being forced radially outward due to forces exerted upon the impeller during the rotation of the impeller. The elongate elements are thereby configured to maintain the gap between the outer edge of the blade of the impeller and the inner surface of frame 34, during rotation of the impeller. Typically, more than one (e.g., more than two) and/or fewer than eight (e.g., fewer than four) elongate elements 67 are use in the impeller, with each of the elongate elements typically being doubled (i.e., extending radially from central axial spring 54 to an outer helical elongate element 52, and then returning from the helical elongate element back to the central axial spring). For some applications, a plurality of elongate elements, each of which extends from the spring to a respective helical elongate element and back to the spring, are formed from a single piece of string or a single wire, as described in further detail hereinbelow.
For some applications, the impeller is manufactured in the following manner Proximal bushing 64, distal bushing 58, and helical elongate elements 52 are cut from a tube of shape-memory material, such as nitinol. The cutting of the tube, as well as the shape setting of the shape-memory material, is typically performed such that the helical elongate elements are defined by the shape-memory material, e.g., using generally similar techniques to those described in US 2016/0022890 to Schwammenthal. Typically, spring 54 is inserted into the cut and shape-set tube, such that the spring extends along the length of the tube from at least the proximal bushing to the distal bushing. For some applications, the spring is inserted into the cut and shape-set tube while the spring is in an axially compressed state, and the spring is configured to be held in position with respect to the tube, by exerting a radial force upon the proximal and distal bushings. Alternatively or additionally, portions of the spring are welded to the proximal and distal bushings. For some applications, the spring is cut from a tube of a shape-memory material, such as nitinol. For some such applications, the spring is configured such that, when the spring is disposed in a non-radially-constrained configuration (in which the spring is typically disposed during operation of the impeller), there are substantially no gaps between windings of the spring and adjacent windings thereto.
For some applications, at this stage, elongate elements 67, as described hereinabove, are placed such as to extend between the spring and one or more of the helical elongate elements, for example, in the following manner A mandrel (e.g., a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and/or a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mandrel) is inserted through the lumen defined by the spring and the bushings. A string or a wire is then threaded such that it passes (a) from the mandrel to a first one of the helical elongate elements, (b) back from the first of the helical elongate elements to the mandrel, (c) around the mandrel, and to a second one of the helical elongate elements, (d) back from the second one of the helical elongate elements to the mandrel, etc. Once the string or the wire has been threaded from the mandrel to each of the helical elongate elements and back again, the ends of the string or the wire are coupled to each other, e.g., by tying them to each other. For some applications, sutures 53 (e.g., polyester sutures) are wound around the helical elongate elements, in order to facilitate bonding between the film of material (which is typically a polymer, such as polyurethane, or silicone) and the helical elongate elements (which is typically a shape-memory alloy, such as nitinol), in a subsequent stage of the manufacture of the impeller. For some applications, sutures (e.g., polyester sutures, not shown) are wound around spring 54. Typically, the sutures are configured to facilitate bonding between the film of material (which is typically a polymer, such as polyurethane, or silicone) and the spring (which is typically a shape-memory alloy, such as nitinol), in the subsequent stage of the manufacture of the impeller.
Typically, at this stage, a structure 59 has been assembled that is as shown in
The result of the process described above is typically that there is a continuous film of material extending between each of the helical elongate elements to the spring, and also extending along the length of the spring, such as to define a tube, with the spring embedded within the tube. The portions of the film that extend from each of the helical elongate elements to the spring define the impeller blades. For applications, in which the impeller includes elongate elements 67, the elongate elements are typically embedded within these portions of film.
Typically, impeller 50 is inserted into the left ventricle transcatheterally, while impeller 50 is in a radially-constrained configuration. In the radially-constrained configuration, both helical elongate elements 52 and central axial spring 54 become axially elongated, and radially constrained. Typically film 56 of the material (e.g., silicone) changes shape to conform to the shape changes of the helical elongate elements and the axial support spring, both of which support the film of material. Typically, using a spring to support the inner edge of the film allows the film to change shape without the film becoming broken or collapsing, due to the spring providing a large surface area to which the inner edge of the film bonds. For some applications, using a spring to support the inner edge of the film reduces a diameter to which the impeller can be radially constrained, relative to if, for example, a rigid shaft were to be used to support the inner edge of the film, since the diameter of the spring itself can be reduced by axially elongating the spring.
As described hereinabove, for some applications, proximal bushing 64 of impeller 50 is coupled to axial shaft 92 such that the axial position of the proximal bushing with respect to the shaft is fixed, and distal bushing 58 of the impeller is slidable with respect to the shaft. For some applications, when the impeller is radially constrained for the purpose of inserting the impeller into the ventricle or for the purpose of withdrawing the impeller from the subject's body, the impeller axially elongates by the distal bushing sliding along the axial shaft distally.
Subsequent to being released inside the subject's body, the impeller assumes its non-radially-constrained configuration (in which the impeller is typically disposed during operation of the impeller), as shown in
For some applications, the pitch of the helical elongate elements (and therefore the impeller blade) varies along the length of the helical elongate element, at least when the impeller is in a non-radially-constrained configuration. Typically, for such applications, the pitch increases from the distal end of the impeller (i.e., the end that is inserted further into the subject's body, and that is placed upstream with respect to the direction of antegrade blood flow) to the proximal end of the impeller (i.e., the end that is placed downstream with respect to the direction of antegrade blood flow), such that the pitch increases in the direction of the blood flow. Typically, the blood flow velocity increases along the impeller, along the direction of blood flow. Therefore, the pitch is increased along the direction of the blood flow, such as to further accelerate the blood.
It is noted that, for illustrative purposes, in some of the figures, impeller 50 is shown without including all of the features of the impeller as shown and described with respect to
Reference is now made to
Reference is also made to
As described hereinabove, typically, axial shaft 92 passes through the axis of impeller 50, via lumen 62 of the impeller. Typically, proximal bushing 64 of the impeller is coupled to the shaft via a coupling element 65 such that the axial position of the proximal bushing with respect to the shaft is fixed, and distal bushing 58 of the impeller is slidable with respect to the shaft. The axial shaft itself is radially stabilized via a proximal radial bearing 116 and a distal radial bearing 118, defined by frame 34. In turn, the axial shaft, by passing through lumen 62 defined by the impeller, radially stabilizes the impeller with respect to the inner surface of frame 34, such that even a relatively small gap between the outer edge of the blade of the impeller and the inner surface of frame 34 (e.g., a gap that is as described above) is maintained, during rotation of the impeller, as described hereinabove. For some applications, axial shaft 92 is made of stainless steel, and proximal bearing 116 and/or distal bearing 118 are made of hardened steel. Typically, when crimping (i.e., radially constraining) the impeller and the frame for the purpose of inserting the impeller and the frame into the subject's body, distal bushing 58 of the impeller is configured to slide along the axial shaft in the distal direction, such that the impeller becomes axially elongated, as described hereinabove. More generally, the impeller changes from its radially-constrained configuration to its non-radially-constrained configuration, and vice versa, by the distal bushing sliding over the axial shaft.
Typically, the impeller itself is not directly disposed within any radial bearings or thrust bearings. Rather, bearings 116 and 118 act as radial bearings with respect to the axial shaft. For some applications, there is no thrust bearing in contact with any surface that could generate thrust forces during the rotation of the impeller, since the impeller is configured to move axially within frame 34, while the impeller is rotating, as described in further detail hereinbelow. Typically, pump portion 27 (and more generally ventricular assist device 20) does not include any thrust bearing that is configured to be disposed within the subject's body and that is configured to oppose thrust generated by the rotation of the impeller. For some applications, one or more thrust bearings are disposed outside the subject's body (e.g., within motor unit 23, shown in
For some alternative applications of the present invention, a ventricular assist device includes an impeller that is not configured to move in an axial back-and-forth motion. For some such applications (not shown), a thrust bearing is used to maintain the axial position of the impeller, and the thrust bearing is disposed within a portion of the ventricular assist device that is proximal to the impeller, such that the thrust bearing does not come into contact with the subject's blood. For example, the thrust bearing may be disposed within an outer tube in which the drive shaft of the impeller is disposed. Alternatively or additionally, the thrust bearing may be disposed outside the subject's body. For some such applications, since the thrust bearing is disposed outside the subject's body, the thrust bearing's dimensions are not constrained by virtue of needing to be deployed within a small anatomical location. Therefore, in such cases, the contact area between the two opposing surfaces of the thrust bearing is typically greater than 20 square mm. For some applications (not shown), the thrust bearing is disposed distally to the impeller and in contact with the subject's blood, such that the thrust bearing is cooled by the subject's blood.
Reference is now made to
For some applications, by moving in the back-and-forth motion, the portions of the axial shaft that are in contact with proximal bearing 116 and distal bearing 118 are constantly changing. For some such applications, in this manner, the frictional force that is exerted upon the axial shaft by the bearings is spread over a larger area of the axial shaft than if the axial shaft were not to move relative to the bearings, thereby reducing wear upon the axial shaft, ceteris paribus. Alternatively or additionally, by moving in the back-and-forth motion with respect to the bearing, the axial shaft cleans the interface between the axial shaft and the bearings from any residues, such as blood residues.
For some applications, when frame 34 and impeller 50 are in non-radially-constrained configurations thereof (e.g., when the frame and the impeller are deployed within the left ventricle), the length of the frame exceeds the length of the impeller by at least 2 mm (e.g., at least 4 mm, or at least 8 mm). Typically, the proximal bearing 116 and distal bearing 118 are each 2-4 mm in length. Further typically, the impeller and the axial shaft are configured to move axially within the frame in the back-and-forth motion at least along the length of each of the proximal and distal bearings, or at least along twice the length of each of the bearings. Thus, during the back-and-forth axial movement of the axial shaft, the axial shaft is wiped clean on either side of each of the bearings.
Reference is again made to
For some applications, axial-shaft-receiving tube 126 extends proximally from distal tip portion 120. As described hereinabove, typically, the axial shaft undergoes axial back-and-forth motion during the operation of impeller 50. Shaft-receiving tube 126 defines lumen 127, which is configured to receive the axial shaft when the axial shaft extends beyond distal bearing 118. For some applications, the shaft-receiving tube defines a stopper 128 at its distal end, the stopper being configured to prevent advancement of the axial shaft beyond the stopper. For some applications, the stopper comprises a rigid component that is inserted (e.g., embedded into the distal end of the shaft-receiving tube. Alternatively, the stopper comprises a shoulder between lumen 127 of the axial-shaft-receiving tube and lumen 122 of tip portion 120. Typically, such a shoulder is present since lumen 122 of tip portion 120 is narrower than lumen 127. (This is because lumen 127 is typically configured to accommodate the axial shaft, while lumen 122 is configured to accommodate guidewire 10, and the axial shaft is typically wider than guidewire 10, since the axial shaft is itself configured to accommodate guidewire 10 within internal lumen 132 (shown in
Typically, during operation of the ventricular assist device, and throughout the back-and-forth axial motion cycle of the impeller, the impeller is disposed in relatively close proximity to the distal tip portion. For example, the distance of the impeller to the distal tip portion may be within the distal-most 50 percent, e.g., the distal-most 30 percent (or the distal-most 20 percent) of tube 24, throughout the back-and-forth motion axial cycle of the impeller.
For some applications (not shown), a portion of frame 34 extends into a proximal portion of distal tip portion 120. The portion of the frame is configured to cause the proximal portion of the tip to undergo radial expansion upon being deployed within the subject's left ventricle, by the portion of the frame being shape set to a radially-expanded configuration. For some applications, the entire tip portion is made of a material having a uniform stiffness, but a portion of the frame 34 that extends into the proximal portion of the tip portion imparts rigidity to the proximal portion of the tip portion, such that the proximal portion of the tip portion has a greater rigidity than the distal portion of the tip portion.
For some applications, the tip portion has a different configuration to that shown in
Reference is now made to
Typically, motor unit 23 includes a motor 74 that is configured to impart rotational motion to impeller 50, via drive cable 130. As described in further detail hereinbelow, typically, the motor is magnetically coupled to the drive cable. For some applications, an axial motion driver 76 is configured to drive the motor to move in an axial back-and-forth motion, as indicated by double-headed arrow 79. Typically, by virtue of the magnetic coupling of the motor to the drive cable, the motor imparts the back-and-forth motion to the drive cable, which it turn imparts this motion to the impeller. As described hereinbelow, for some applications, the drive cable, the impeller, and/or the axial shaft undergo axial back-and-forth motion in a passive manner, e.g., due to cyclical changes in the pressure gradient against which the impeller is pumping blood. Typically, for such applications, motor unit 23 does not include axial motion driver 76.
For some applications, the magnetic coupling of the motor to the drive cable is as shown in
Magnetic coupling is strongest when the field density is maximized Therefore, it is desirable to use relatively strong magnets for the driving magnets and the driven magnet, to have a small air gap between the driving magnets and the driven magnet, and to try to minimize field line leakage. Typically, the driving magnets and the driven magnet are neodymium magnets, which are relatively strong. Further typically, the gap between each of the driving magnets and the driven magnet is less than 2 mm, e.g., approximately 1 mm. In order to reduce field line leakage, typically fewer than 4 magnets (e.g., exactly two magnets, as shown) are used as the driving magnets, for the following reason.
Typically, it is desirable to minimize the diameter of the driven magnet, for example, in order to stabilize the driven magnet. As described hereinabove, the driven magnet is cylindrical, and the magnet includes a North pole and a South pole, which are divided from each other along the length of the cylinder along dividing line 83. In the region of the circumference of the driven magnet that is closest to the dividing line between the North and South poles of the magnet, the magnetic field lines pass directly from the North of the magnet to the South rather than crossing the air gap to the first outer magnet, passing through the outer magnet, around ring 81, and across the second driving magnet back to the South pole of the driven magnet. As an approximation, any field line which can be drawn between the North pole and the South pole, the length of which is less than at least the total sum of the air gaps between the driven magnet and the driving magnets will pass from the North pole of the driven magnet to the South pole of the driven magnet rather than taking the alternative route. Assuming that this adds up to all field lines extending around 2 mm of the circumference of the driven magnet on either side of the dividing line between the North and South poles of the driven magnet, that is a total of 4 mm out of the total circumference of the driven magnet that does not contribute toward the magnetic coupling between the driving magnets and the driven magnet. If instead of just two poles, the driven magnet had four poles, and correspondingly there were four driving magnets, then there would be 2-mm-long wasted circumference sections four times throughout the circumference, which would result in a total of 8 mm out of 12 mm of the circumference of the inner magnet with wasted field lines. Some of this loss would be compensated by the addition of two extra driving magnets, which add to the field strength. However, the additional outer magnets would be relatively close to each other, which would result in magnetic field leaking between the driving magnets. In view of the above, typically, the motor unit includes fewer than 4 magnets (e.g., exactly two magnets, as shown) as driving magnets, and the driven magnet is divided into fewer than four poles (e.g., exactly two poles, as shown).
It is noted that in the application shown in
As described hereinabove, typically purging system 29 (shown in
Reference is now made to
For some applications, impeller 50 and axial shaft 92 are configured to move axially back-and-forth within frame 34 in response to forces that act upon the impeller, and without requiring the axial shaft to be actively driven to move in the axial back-and-forth motion. Typically, over the course of the subject's cardiac cycle, the pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta varies from being approximately zero during ventricular systole (hereinafter “systole”) to a relatively large pressure difference (e.g., 60-100 mmHg) during ventricular diastole (hereinafter “diastole”). For some applications, due to the increased pressure difference that the impeller is pumping against during diastole, the impeller is pushed distally with respect to frame 34 during diastole, relative to the location of the impeller with respect to frame 34 during systole. In turn, since the impeller is connected to the axial shaft, the axial shaft is moved forward. During systole, the impeller (and, in turn, the axial shaft) move back to their systolic positions. In this manner, the axial back-and-forth motion of the impeller and the axial shaft is generated in a passive manner, i.e., without requiring active driving of the axial shaft and the impeller, in order to cause them to undergo this motion.
Reference is now made to
As indicated by the results shown in
For some applications, during operation of the ventricular assist device, computer processor 25 of control console 21 (
For some applications, generally similar techniques are applied to a right ventricular assist device that is configured to pump blood from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, and the computer processor is configured to determine the pressure difference between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery in a generally similar manner, mutatis mutandis. For some applications, generally similar techniques are applied to a cardiac assist device that is configured to pump blood from a first location to a second location (such as, from the vena cava to the right ventricle, from the right atrium to the right ventricle, from the vena cava to the pulmonary artery, and/or from right atrium to the pulmonary artery), and the computer processor is configured to determine the pressure difference between the first location and the second location in a generally similar manner, mutatis mutandis.
Referring again to
For some applications, the Hall sensor measurements are initially calibrated, such that the change in magnetic flux per unit change in pressure against which the impeller is pumping (i.e., per unit change in the pressure difference between the left ventricle and the aorta) is known. It is known that, in most subjects, at systole, the left-ventricular pressure is equal to the aortic pressure. Therefore, for some applications, the subject's aortic pressure is measured, and the subject's left-ventricular pressure at a given time is then calculated by the computer processor, based upon (a) the measured aortic pressure, and (b) the difference between the magnetic flux measured by the Hall sensor at that time, and the magnetic flux measured by the Hall sensor during systole (when the pressure in the left ventricle is assumed to be equal to that of the aorta).
Reference is now made to
Typically, during insertion of the impeller and the cage into the left ventricle, impeller 50 and frame 34 are maintained in a radially-constrained configuration by delivery catheter 143. As described hereinabove, in order for the impeller and the frame to assume non-radially-constrained configurations, the delivery catheter is retracted. For some applications, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Alternatively or additionally, the impeller is inserted into frame 34, such that the drive cable is already in a preloaded state (i.e., such that the impeller exerts tension on the drive cable that causes the drive cable to be axially elongated relative to its rest state). Due to the preloading of the drive cable, when the rotation of the impeller is initiated, this does not cause the drive cable to axially elongate, since the drive cable is already in an axially elongated state relative to its rest state. For some such applications, the impeller is still configured to undergo axial back-and-forth motion as a result of changes in pressure due to the subject's cardiac cycle (as described hereinabove).
For some applications, debris is generated by frictional forces between the drive cable and outer tube 140. Alternatively or additionally, a fluid (e.g., purging fluid) is disposed between the drive cable and the outer tube. Typically, due to the windings of the coiled drive cable, the drive cable acts as an impeller and pumps the debris and/or the fluid axially with respect to outer tube 140. For some applications, the direction of the windings of the drive cable is such that the drive cable is configured, by rotating in a predefined rotation direction, to pump the debris and/or the fluid toward a proximal end of the ventricular assist device, and not to pump the debris and/or the fluid toward the distal end of the ventricular assist device toward the patient's left ventricle.
Reference is now made to
For some applications, the first portion is configured to have greater flexibility than the second portion, by the coil of wires 134 in the first portion including fewer wires than in the second portion. For example, as shown in
For some applications, the two portions of the drive cable are coupled to each other via interface component 154. Typically, the wires of the two portions are welded to the interface component. For some applications, grooves 157 are cut into the interface component. The grooves are configured such that stress generated by a wire at the interface is spread over the radius of the groove as opposed to being concentrated at the point at which the wire is welded to the interface component. For some such applications, the interface component additionally includes protrusions 158 that hold the wires in place during welding of the wires to the interface component.
Reference is now made to
Referring to
For some applications, generally similar techniques to those described with reference to
For some applications, swaging techniques are used for coupling the two portions of the drive cable to each other. For some such applications, the ends of inner and outer tubes are placed respectively inside and outside of the ends of the two portions of the drive cable that will form the interface between the portions. The inner tube is then placed over a rigid mandrel and the inner and outer tubes and the ends of the drive cable are swaged together by applying pressure around the outside of the outer tube. Once the ends of the portions of the drive cable, as well as the inner and outer tubes, have been swaged together, this forms the interface between the portions of the drive cable. For some applications, similar swaging techniques are performed for coupling the drive cable to the axial shaft at interface 156.
Reference is now made to
Typically, the ventricular assist device traverses the subject's aortic arch, and/or other portions of the subject's vasculature that are substantially curved. In the absence of the friction-reduction elements, drive cable 130 and tube 142 would typically contact each other, particularly at the curved portions of the vasculature. As described hereinabove, drive cable 130 typically undergoes rotational motion, and for some applications additionally undergoes back-and-forth axial motion, with respect to tube 142. Therefore, in the absence of the friction-reduction elements (or first outer tube 140, as described hereinabove), there would be substantial frictional forces generated at the locations at which the drive cable and outer tube 142 are in contact with each other. Therefore, for some applications, the friction-reduction elements are disposed between drive cable 130 and outer tube 142, in order to reduce frictional forces generated at the locations at which drive cable 130 and outer tube 142 are in contact with each other. For some applications, the friction-reduction elements are disposed between drive cable 130 and outer tube 142 substantially along the full length of drive cable 130 and outer tube 142. Alternatively, the friction-reduction elements are disposed between drive cable 130 and outer tube 142 at locations at which drive cable 130 and outer tube 142 are configured to be substantially curved, e.g., at the location at which drive cable 130 and outer tube 142 are disposed within the aortic arch, during operation of the ventricular assist device.
Reference is now made to
For some applications, purging fluid is pumped through lumen 132 defined by drive cable 130 and axial shaft 92, such that at least some fluid flows all the way to the distal end of the axial shaft. For some applications, in this manner, some of the purging fluid flows to the interface between the axial shaft and distal bearing 118, thereby purging the interface, as indicated by purging-fluid-flow arrow 150 in
For some applications, hemostasis valve 152 is disposed at the distal end of the lumen 122 of distal tip portion 120, as described hereinabove. Alternatively or additionally, a plug (not shown) is disposed at the distal end of the lumen 122 of tip portion 120. Typically, the hemostasis valve and/or the plug prevents blood from flowing into lumen 122, and/or into lumen 132. Further typically, the plug, by preventing purging fluid from flowing out of the distal end of lumen 122, causes the purging fluid to flow toward the interface between axial shaft 92 and distal bearing 118, as indicated by purging-fluid-flow arrow 150 in
For some applications, alternative techniques to those described hereinabove are used for introducing fluid (e.g., a fluid containing glucose) to the ventricular assist device. In the application shown in
For some applications, a generally similar technique is performed, but the fluid is pumped between the drive cable 130 (which rotates), and outer tube 140 (which remains stationary, during rotation of the drive cable), during operation of the ventricular assist device. For example, the fluid may be pumped into the space via the gap between first outer tube 140 and second outer tube 142, as shown. For some applications, the fluid is continuously pumped between the drive cable and the outer tube, during operation of the ventricular assist device, or is periodically pumped between the drive cable and the outer tube during operation of the ventricular assist device. It is noted that even for such applications, the fluid is pumped between the drive cable and the outer tube, but does not flow into the subject's bloodstream, since flow of the fluid in the distal direction is blocked, as described hereinabove. The pumping of the fluid is configured to remove air from the space between the drive cable and the outer tube, to reduce frictional forces between drive cable 130 (which rotates) and outer tube 140 (which remains stationary, during rotation of the drive cable), and/or to remove debris generated by the ventricular assist device from the interface between the drive cable and the outer tube.
Reference is now made to
As described hereinabove, typically, device 20 is inserted into the subject's ventricle transcatheterally, while frame 34 is in a radially-constrained state. Upon being released from the catheter, the frame automatically assumes its non-constrained shape, due to frame 34 self-expanding. Typically, during the insertion of the frame to the left ventricle, the curved projections of the stator are in folded states, and do not substantially increase the minimal diameter to which the frame can be radially-constrained, relative to if the tube did not contain the curved projections. Upon frame 34 expanding, the curved projections are configured to automatically assume their curved configurations, due to the curved projections being coupled to frame 34.
For some applications, curved projections 66 are made of a flexible material, e.g., a polymer, such as polyurethane, and/or silicone. The curved projections are typically coupled to struts 186 of frame 34 that are curved, the curvature of the curved struts thereby defining the curvature of the curved projections. Typically, the flexible material is coupled to frame 34, such that the flexible material defines a lumen 188 (
For some applications, in order to facilitate the coupling of the flexible material to the frame, in order to shape the flexible material in a desired shape, and/or in order to facilitate the formation of lumen 188, a plurality of elongate elements 190 (e.g., strings and/or wires, which are typically made of a similar material to elongate elements 67) are tied to the proximal end of the frame. For some applications, curved struts 186 define rings 192 or other coupling elements at distal ends thereof, to which elongate elements 190 are tied. The flexible material is typically coupled to the frame, such that curved films of material are supported by the curved struts and the elongate elements, each of the films defining a respective curved projection. For some applications, the strings and/or wires that are tied to the proximal end of the frame are tied to define a circle 191, which defines one of the ends of lumen 188. For example, during the formation of the stator, a mandrel may be placed through proximal bearing 116, and the elongate elements may be tied to rings 192 and made to encircle the mandrel, such as to define the pattern of elongate elements shown in
Reference is now made to
As shown in
The direction of rotation of the impeller is indicated by arrow 198 in
Reference is now made to
Referring to
For some applications, the one or more blood-pressure-measurement tubes include one or more aortic blood-pressure-measurement tubes 222 that are configured to extend to the outer surface of the tube at a location along the tube that is configured to be within the subject's aorta, as shown in
For some applications, the ventricular assist device includes both left ventricular blood-pressure-measurement tubes and aortic blood-pressure-measurement tubes all of which extend to the outer surface of tube 24, e.g., as shown in
Still referring to
As shown in
As shown in
Referring now to
Although the ventricular assist device as described with reference to
In general, the scope of the present invention includes applying any of the apparatus and methods that are described herein to a right ventricular assist device, mutatis mutandis. The right-ventricular assist device typically has a generally similar configuration to that described herein and is used to pump blood from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, with tube 24 passing through the pulmonary semilunar valve. For some applications, components of device 20 are applicable to different types of blood pumps. For example, aspects of the present invention may be applicable to a pump that is used to pump blood from the vena cava and/or the right atrium into the right ventricle, from the vena cava and/or the right atrium into the pulmonary artery, and/or from the renal veins into the vena cava. Such aspects may include features of pump portion 27, impeller 50, features of drive cable 130, apparatus and methods for measuring blood pressure, apparatus and methods for measuring flow, etc.
For some applications, generally similar techniques to those described with reference to blood-pressure-measurement tube 210 are performed using an electrical wire that extends from within blood-pump tube 24 (and that typically extends from outside the subject's body) to the outer surface of tube 24, such that at least a tip of the wire is in electrical communication with the subject's bloodstream outside of tube 24. The subject's blood pressure outside tube 24 (e.g., the subject's ventricular blood pressure and/or the subject's aortic blood pressure) is measured by detecting an electrical parameter using the portion of the wire that is in electrical communication with the subject's bloodstream outside tube 24.
Reference is now made to
In some applications, flow through tube 24 is calculated based upon the pressure measurements. For example, flow through tube 24 may be calculated using the following equation:
in which:
Q is the flow through tube 24,
C is a calibration constant that is empirically determined and accounts for factors such as impeller velocity and the geometries of pressure taps 227 and 229,
A is the cross-sectional area of tube 24 (not including the area that outer tube 142 occupies),
ΔP is the difference between the stagnation pressure (measured via pressure tap 227), and the static pressure (measured via pressure tap 229)
ρ is the fluid density of blood.
Reference is now made to
For some applications, radially-expandable atraumatic distal tip portion 120 includes a frame 234 made of a shape-memory material (such as nitinol), which is shape set, such that the frame radially expands upon being released from the delivery catheter. Typically, the frame is covered with a biocompatible blood-impermeable material 236, such as polyurethane, polyester, and/or silicone, which is typically configured to form a continuous surface that covers the frame. For some applications, the distal tip portion additionally includes an atraumatic distal tip 238, which may have a similar shape to distal tip portion 120, as described hereinabove with reference to
Radially-expandable atraumatic distal tip portion 120 is typically configured such that, in the non-radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion, radially-expandable portion 232 of the distal tip portion separates one or more blood inlet openings 108 from inner structures of the left ventricle in three dimensions. In this manner, radially-expandable portion 232 of the distal tip portion separates one or more blood inlet openings 108 from the interventricular septum, chordae tendineae, papillary muscles, and/or the apex of the left ventricle. For some applications, the radially-expandable portion 232 of the distal tip portion is shaped such as to direct blood flow from the left ventricle into the one or more blood inlet openings, as indicated by arrows 240 in
Reference is now made to
As described hereinabove, typically, at least a portion of distal tip portion 120 is disposed inside delivery catheter 143 during insertion of the distal tip into the left ventricle, and the delivery catheter maintains the distal tip portion in the radially-constrained configuration, as shown in
For some applications, distal tip portion 120 is configured such that in the non-radially-constrained configuration of the distal tip portion, distal end 246 of the distal tip portion is enveloped within radially-expandable portion 232 of the distal tip portion. For some applications, the distal end is retracted proximally, such that the distal end is enveloped within the radially-expandable portion. For example, the distal tip portion may include a spring 249 and/or an elastomeric material that is configured to retract the distal end of the distal tip portion, as shown in the transition from
Referring to
Reference is now made to
For some applications, the tip portion has a straightened configuration in which the tip portion is shaped to define a frustum that extends from the proximal end of the frustum until the distal tip of the distal tip portion. For example, a guidewire (such as guidewire 10) that is inserted through lumen 122 (shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Atraumatic distal tip portion 120, as shown in
Reference is now made to
For some applications, the distal tip portion is made of a flexible material (such as silicone) with a spring 290 disposed around lumen 122. During insertion of the ventricular assist device into the subject's body, a rigid or semi-rigid stiffening element 292 (e.g., a rigid or semi-rigid tube) is placed inside distal region 244 of the distal tip portion, such as to stiffen the distal region. This configuration is shown in
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
For some applications, distal tip portion 120 has a pointed distal region 244, the diameter of the distal tip portion at the proximal end of the distal region being approximately equal to that of delivery catheter 143. Typically, pointed distal region 244 has a length of less than half (e.g., less than a quarter) of the total length of the distal tip portion. Further typically, the flexibility of the pointed distal region is greater than that of a proximal region of the distal tip portion. Typically, the distal region is configured to be straightened to a generally conical shape when a sufficiently stiff guidewire is inserted into it. For some applications, the distal region is configured to curl to a J-shape, in the absence of any external forces acting on the distal region (e.g., as shown in
Typically, the distal region of the distal tip portion acts as a dilator for delivery catheter 143, to allow percutaneous insertion of the catheter into a punctured vessel, by placing a first guidewire through the distal region of the distal tip portion. Subsequently, the distal tip portion is used to guide the catheter along an arched anatomy (e.g., the aortic arch) by tracking the course and shape of a second guidewire that is less stiff than the first guidewire. For some applications, the distal region of the distal tip portion is configured to curl, when the second guidewire is withdrawn, as described hereinabove.
For some applications, features of distal tip portion 120 described with reference to
Reference is now made to
Reference is also made to
Alternatively or additionally to the crimping technique shown in
Reference is now made to
For some applications (not shown), a plurality of electrodes are disposed upon a distal portion of a left-ventricular assist device. Computer processor 25 (
With regards to all aspects of ventricular assist device 20 described with reference to
Reference is now made to
For some applications, tube 312 includes valve 70 at a region of the tube that is configured to be disposed distally with respect to impeller 50 and in the vicinity of the aortic valve, as shown in
Reference is now made to
For some applications, ventricular assist device 308 includes balloon 80 at the distal end of tube 312, which is configured to be disposed in the left ventricle, as shown in
The scope of the present invention includes combining any of the apparatus and methods described herein with any of the apparatus and methods described in one or more of the following applications, all of which are incorporated herein by reference:
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof that are not in the prior art, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/281,264 to Tuval (published as US 2019/0209758), filed Feb. 21, 2019, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/IB2019/050186 to Tuval (published as WO 19/138350), filed Jan. 10, 2019, entitled “Ventricular assist device,” which claims priority from: U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/615,538 to Sohn, entitled “Ventricular assist device,” filed Jan. 10, 2018;U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,718 to Sohn, entitled “Ventricular assist device,” filed May 2, 2018;U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/681,868 to Tuval, entitled “Ventricular assist device,” filed Jun. 7, 2018; andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/727,605 to Tuval, entitled “Ventricular assist device,” filed Sep. 6, 2018. All of the above-referenced US Provisional applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3592183 | Watkins et al. | Jul 1971 | A |
| 4625712 | Wampler | Dec 1986 | A |
| 4753221 | Kensey et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
| 4919647 | Nash | Apr 1990 | A |
| 4944722 | Carriker et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
| 4954055 | Raible et al. | Sep 1990 | A |
| 4957504 | Chardack | Sep 1990 | A |
| 4964864 | Summers et al. | Oct 1990 | A |
| 4969865 | Hwang et al. | Nov 1990 | A |
| 4985014 | Orejola | Jan 1991 | A |
| 5011469 | Buckberg et al. | Apr 1991 | A |
| 5061256 | Wampler | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5169378 | Figuera | Dec 1992 | A |
| 5275580 | Yamazaki | Jan 1994 | A |
| 5531789 | Yamazaki et al. | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5569275 | Kotula et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5613935 | Jarvik | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5692882 | Bozeman, Jr. et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5713730 | Nose et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5749855 | Reitan | May 1998 | A |
| 5772693 | Brownlee | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5843158 | Lenker et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5863179 | Westphal et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5876385 | Ikari et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5879499 | Corvi | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5911685 | Siess et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5928132 | Leschinsky | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5947892 | Benkowski et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5964694 | Siess et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 6007478 | Siess et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6086527 | Talpade | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6116862 | Rau et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6135729 | Aber | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6136025 | Barbut et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6162017 | Raible | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6176848 | Rau et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6183220 | Ohara et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6217541 | Yu | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6247892 | Kazatchkov et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6355001 | Quinn et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6413222 | Pantages et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6482228 | Norred | Nov 2002 | B1 |
| 6506146 | Mohl | Jan 2003 | B1 |
| 6533716 | Schmutz-Rode et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6537315 | Yamazaki et al. | Mar 2003 | B2 |
| 6544216 | Sammler et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6592567 | Levin et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
| 6616624 | Kieval | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6884210 | Nose et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 6949066 | Bearnson et al. | Sep 2005 | B2 |
| 7004925 | Navia et al. | Feb 2006 | B2 |
| 7010954 | Siess et al. | Mar 2006 | B2 |
| 7011620 | Siess | Mar 2006 | B1 |
| 7022100 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7027875 | Siess et al. | Apr 2006 | B2 |
| 7070555 | Siess | Jul 2006 | B2 |
| 7144364 | Barbut et al. | Dec 2006 | B2 |
| 7159593 | Mccarthy et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7201772 | Schwammenthal et al. | Apr 2007 | B2 |
| 7258679 | Moore et al. | Aug 2007 | B2 |
| 7335192 | Keren et al. | Feb 2008 | B2 |
| 7338521 | Antaki et al. | Mar 2008 | B2 |
| 7341570 | Keren et al. | Mar 2008 | B2 |
| 7393181 | Mcbride et al. | Jul 2008 | B2 |
| 7485104 | Kieval | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 7717952 | Case et al. | May 2010 | B2 |
| 7744642 | Rittgers et al. | Jun 2010 | B2 |
| 7762941 | Jarvik | Jul 2010 | B2 |
| 7766853 | Lane | Aug 2010 | B2 |
| 7766892 | Keren et al. | Aug 2010 | B2 |
| 7766961 | Patel et al. | Aug 2010 | B2 |
| 7780628 | Keren et al. | Aug 2010 | B1 |
| 7811221 | Gross | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 7841976 | McBride et al. | Nov 2010 | B2 |
| 7914436 | Kung | Mar 2011 | B1 |
| 7914503 | Goodson et al. | Mar 2011 | B2 |
| 7927068 | Mcbride et al. | Apr 2011 | B2 |
| 8012121 | Goodson et al. | Sep 2011 | B2 |
| 8079948 | Shifflette | Dec 2011 | B2 |
| 8118723 | Richardson et al. | Feb 2012 | B2 |
| 8123669 | Siess et al. | Feb 2012 | B2 |
| 8157758 | Pecor et al. | Apr 2012 | B2 |
| 8192451 | Cambronne et al. | Jun 2012 | B2 |
| 8216122 | Kung | Jul 2012 | B2 |
| 8221492 | Case et al. | Jul 2012 | B2 |
| 8235933 | Keren et al. | Aug 2012 | B2 |
| 8277470 | Demarais et al. | Oct 2012 | B2 |
| 8376707 | Mcbride et al. | Feb 2013 | B2 |
| 8439859 | Pfeffer et al. | May 2013 | B2 |
| 8449443 | Rodefeld et al. | May 2013 | B2 |
| 8485961 | Campbell et al. | Jul 2013 | B2 |
| 8489190 | Pfeffer et al. | Jul 2013 | B2 |
| 8512262 | Gertner | Aug 2013 | B2 |
| 8535211 | Walters et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
| 8538535 | Ariav et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
| 8579858 | Reitan et al. | Nov 2013 | B2 |
| 8591393 | Walters et al. | Nov 2013 | B2 |
| 8591539 | Gellman | Nov 2013 | B2 |
| 8597170 | Walters et al. | Dec 2013 | B2 |
| 8617239 | Reitan | Dec 2013 | B2 |
| 8672868 | Simons | Mar 2014 | B2 |
| 8684904 | Campbell et al. | Apr 2014 | B2 |
| 8690749 | Nunez | Apr 2014 | B1 |
| 8721516 | Scheckel | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8721517 | Zeng et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8727959 | Reitan et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8734331 | Evans et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8734508 | Hastings et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
| 8777832 | Wang et al. | Jul 2014 | B1 |
| 8814543 | Liebing | Aug 2014 | B2 |
| 8814776 | Hastie et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
| 8814933 | Siess | Aug 2014 | B2 |
| 8827887 | Curtis et al. | Sep 2014 | B2 |
| 8849398 | Evans | Sep 2014 | B2 |
| 8864642 | Scheckel | Oct 2014 | B2 |
| 8888728 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Nov 2014 | B2 |
| 8900060 | Liebing | Dec 2014 | B2 |
| 8926492 | Scheckel | Jan 2015 | B2 |
| 8932141 | Liebing | Jan 2015 | B2 |
| 8944748 | Liebing | Feb 2015 | B2 |
| 8979493 | Roehn | Mar 2015 | B2 |
| 8992163 | Mcbride et al. | Mar 2015 | B2 |
| 8998792 | Scheckel | Apr 2015 | B2 |
| 9028216 | Schumacher et al. | May 2015 | B2 |
| 9067006 | Toellner | Jun 2015 | B2 |
| 9072825 | Pfeffer et al. | Jul 2015 | B2 |
| 9089634 | Schumacher et al. | Jul 2015 | B2 |
| 9138518 | Campbell et al. | Sep 2015 | B2 |
| 9162017 | Evans et al. | Oct 2015 | B2 |
| 9162019 | Horvath et al. | Oct 2015 | B2 |
| 9217442 | Wiessler et al. | Dec 2015 | B2 |
| 9259521 | Simons | Feb 2016 | B2 |
| 9278189 | Corbett | Mar 2016 | B2 |
| 9314558 | Er | Apr 2016 | B2 |
| 9327067 | Zeng et al. | May 2016 | B2 |
| 9328741 | Liebing | May 2016 | B2 |
| 9339596 | Roehn | May 2016 | B2 |
| 9358329 | Fitzgerald et al. | Jun 2016 | B2 |
| 9358330 | Schumacher | Jun 2016 | B2 |
| 9364592 | Mcbride et al. | Jun 2016 | B2 |
| 9364593 | Mcbride et al. | Jun 2016 | B2 |
| 9370613 | Hsu et al. | Jun 2016 | B2 |
| 9381288 | Schenck et al. | Jul 2016 | B2 |
| 9393384 | Kapur et al. | Jul 2016 | B1 |
| 9402942 | Hastie et al. | Aug 2016 | B2 |
| 9404505 | Scheckel | Aug 2016 | B2 |
| 9416783 | Schumacher et al. | Aug 2016 | B2 |
| 9416791 | Toellner | Aug 2016 | B2 |
| 9421311 | Tanner et al. | Aug 2016 | B2 |
| 9446179 | Keenan et al. | Sep 2016 | B2 |
| 9474840 | Siess | Oct 2016 | B2 |
| 9512839 | Liebing | Dec 2016 | B2 |
| 9533082 | Reichenbach et al. | Jan 2017 | B2 |
| 9533084 | Siess et al. | Jan 2017 | B2 |
| 9545468 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Jan 2017 | B2 |
| 9550017 | Spanier et al. | Jan 2017 | B2 |
| 9561314 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Feb 2017 | B2 |
| 9572915 | Heuring et al. | Feb 2017 | B2 |
| 9597205 | Tuval | Mar 2017 | B2 |
| 9597437 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Mar 2017 | B2 |
| 9603983 | Roehn et al. | Mar 2017 | B2 |
| 9611743 | Toellner et al. | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| 9616159 | Anderson et al. | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| 9623161 | Medvedev et al. | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| 9669142 | Spanier et al. | Jun 2017 | B2 |
| 9669144 | Spanier et al. | Jun 2017 | B2 |
| 9675738 | Tanner et al. | Jun 2017 | B2 |
| 9675740 | Zeng et al. | Jun 2017 | B2 |
| 9713663 | Medvedev et al. | Jul 2017 | B2 |
| 9717833 | Mcbride et al. | Aug 2017 | B2 |
| 9721517 | Namkung et al. | Aug 2017 | B2 |
| 9750860 | Schumacher | Sep 2017 | B2 |
| 9750861 | Hastie et al. | Sep 2017 | B2 |
| 9759237 | Liebing | Sep 2017 | B2 |
| 9764113 | Tuval et al. | Sep 2017 | B2 |
| 9771801 | Schumacher et al. | Sep 2017 | B2 |
| 9789238 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Oct 2017 | B2 |
| 9795727 | Schumacher | Oct 2017 | B2 |
| 9814814 | Corbett et al. | Nov 2017 | B2 |
| 9821146 | Tao et al. | Nov 2017 | B2 |
| 9827356 | Muller et al. | Nov 2017 | B2 |
| 9833550 | Siess | Dec 2017 | B2 |
| 9835550 | Kakuno et al. | Dec 2017 | B2 |
| 9850906 | Ozaki et al. | Dec 2017 | B2 |
| 9872947 | Keenan et al. | Jan 2018 | B2 |
| 9872948 | Siess | Jan 2018 | B2 |
| 9878079 | Pfeffer et al. | Jan 2018 | B2 |
| 9889242 | Pfeffer et al. | Feb 2018 | B2 |
| 9895475 | Toellner et al. | Feb 2018 | B2 |
| 9903384 | Roehn | Feb 2018 | B2 |
| 9907890 | Muller | Mar 2018 | B2 |
| 9907891 | Wiessler et al. | Mar 2018 | B2 |
| 9919087 | Pfeffer et al. | Mar 2018 | B2 |
| 9962475 | Campbell et al. | May 2018 | B2 |
| 9964115 | Scheckel | May 2018 | B2 |
| 9974893 | Toellner | May 2018 | B2 |
| 9999714 | Spanier et al. | Jun 2018 | B2 |
| 10029037 | Muller et al. | Jul 2018 | B2 |
| 10029040 | Taskin | Jul 2018 | B2 |
| 10039872 | Zeng et al. | Aug 2018 | B2 |
| 10039874 | Schwammenthal et al. | Aug 2018 | B2 |
| 10052419 | Er | Aug 2018 | B2 |
| 10052420 | Medvedev et al. | Aug 2018 | B2 |
| 10071192 | Zeng | Sep 2018 | B2 |
| 10086121 | Fitzgerald et al. | Oct 2018 | B2 |
| 10105475 | Muller | Oct 2018 | B2 |
| 10107299 | Scheckel | Oct 2018 | B2 |
| 10117980 | Keenan et al. | Nov 2018 | B2 |
| 10119550 | Bredenbreuker et al. | Nov 2018 | B2 |
| 10149932 | Mcbride et al. | Dec 2018 | B2 |
| 10172985 | Simon et al. | Jan 2019 | B2 |
| 10179197 | Kaiser et al. | Jan 2019 | B2 |
| 10183104 | Anderson et al. | Jan 2019 | B2 |
| 10196899 | Toellner et al. | Feb 2019 | B2 |
| 10207037 | Corbett et al. | Feb 2019 | B2 |
| 10208763 | Schumacher et al. | Feb 2019 | B2 |
| 10215187 | Mcbride et al. | Feb 2019 | B2 |
| 10221866 | Liebing | Mar 2019 | B2 |
| 10231838 | Chin et al. | Mar 2019 | B2 |
| 10238783 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Mar 2019 | B2 |
| 10245363 | Rowe | Apr 2019 | B1 |
| 10265447 | Campbell et al. | Apr 2019 | B2 |
| 10265448 | Liebing | Apr 2019 | B2 |
| 10279095 | Aboul-hosn et al. | May 2019 | B2 |
| 10300185 | Aboul-hosn et al. | May 2019 | B2 |
| 10300186 | Aboul-hosn et al. | May 2019 | B2 |
| 10316853 | Toellner | Jun 2019 | B2 |
| 10330101 | Toellner | Jun 2019 | B2 |
| 10342904 | Schumacher | Jul 2019 | B2 |
| 10342906 | D'Ambrosio et al. | Jul 2019 | B2 |
| 10363349 | Muller et al. | Jul 2019 | B2 |
| 10369260 | Smith et al. | Aug 2019 | B2 |
| 10376162 | Edelman et al. | Aug 2019 | B2 |
| 10413646 | Wiessler et al. | Sep 2019 | B2 |
| 10449276 | Pfeffer et al. | Oct 2019 | B2 |
| 10449279 | Muller | Oct 2019 | B2 |
| 10478538 | Scheckel et al. | Nov 2019 | B2 |
| 10478539 | Pfeffer et al. | Nov 2019 | B2 |
| 10478540 | Scheckel et al. | Nov 2019 | B2 |
| 10495101 | Scheckel | Dec 2019 | B2 |
| 10557475 | Roehn | Feb 2020 | B2 |
| 10583231 | Schwammenthal et al. | Mar 2020 | B2 |
| 10584589 | Schumacher et al. | Mar 2020 | B2 |
| 10589012 | Toellner et al. | Mar 2020 | B2 |
| 10617808 | Hastie et al. | Apr 2020 | B2 |
| 10662967 | Scheckel | May 2020 | B2 |
| 10669855 | Toellner et al. | Jun 2020 | B2 |
| 10765789 | Zeng et al. | Sep 2020 | B2 |
| 10792406 | Roehn et al. | Oct 2020 | B2 |
| 10799624 | Pfeffer et al. | Oct 2020 | B2 |
| 10799626 | Siess et al. | Oct 2020 | B2 |
| 10801511 | Siess et al. | Oct 2020 | B2 |
| 10806838 | Er | Oct 2020 | B2 |
| 10835653 | Liebing | Nov 2020 | B2 |
| 10857272 | Liebing | Dec 2020 | B2 |
| 10864309 | Mcbride et al. | Dec 2020 | B2 |
| 10865801 | Mcbride et al. | Dec 2020 | B2 |
| 10874783 | Pfeffer et al. | Dec 2020 | B2 |
| 10881770 | Tuval et al. | Jan 2021 | B2 |
| 10881845 | Siess et al. | Jan 2021 | B2 |
| 10894115 | Pfeffer et al. | Jan 2021 | B2 |
| 10898629 | Siess et al. | Jan 2021 | B2 |
| 10907646 | Bredenbreuker et al. | Feb 2021 | B2 |
| 10920596 | Toellner et al. | Feb 2021 | B2 |
| 10926013 | Schumacher et al. | Feb 2021 | B2 |
| 10935038 | Siess | Mar 2021 | B2 |
| 10980927 | Pfeffer et al. | Apr 2021 | B2 |
| 10994120 | Tuval | May 2021 | B2 |
| 11007350 | Tao et al. | May 2021 | B2 |
| 11020584 | Siess et al. | Jun 2021 | B2 |
| 11027114 | D'Ambrosio et al. | Jun 2021 | B2 |
| 11033729 | Scheckel et al. | Jun 2021 | B2 |
| 11040187 | Wiessler et al. | Jun 2021 | B2 |
| RE48649 | Siess | Jul 2021 | E |
| 11116960 | Simon et al. | Sep 2021 | B2 |
| 11123539 | Pfeffer et al. | Sep 2021 | B2 |
| 11129978 | Pfeffer et al. | Sep 2021 | B2 |
| 11167124 | Pfeffer et al. | Nov 2021 | B2 |
| 11168705 | Liebing | Nov 2021 | B2 |
| 11185680 | Tuval | Nov 2021 | B2 |
| 11191944 | Tuval et al. | Dec 2021 | B2 |
| 11197690 | Fantuzzi et al. | Dec 2021 | B2 |
| 11219755 | Siess et al. | Jan 2022 | B2 |
| 11229786 | Zeng et al. | Jan 2022 | B2 |
| 11253692 | Schumacher | Feb 2022 | B2 |
| 11253693 | Pfeffer et al. | Feb 2022 | B2 |
| 11260212 | Tuval et al. | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11260215 | Scheckel et al. | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11266824 | Er | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11268521 | Toellner | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11273301 | Pfeffer et al. | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11278711 | Liebing | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11280345 | Bredenbreuker et al. | Mar 2022 | B2 |
| 11291825 | Tuval et al. | Apr 2022 | B2 |
| 11298525 | Jahangir | Apr 2022 | B2 |
| 11305105 | Corbett et al. | Apr 2022 | B2 |
| 11313228 | Schumacher et al. | Apr 2022 | B2 |
| 11338124 | Pfeffer et al. | May 2022 | B2 |
| 11351358 | Nix et al. | Jun 2022 | B2 |
| 11364373 | Corbett et al. | Jun 2022 | B2 |
| 11421701 | Schumacher et al. | Aug 2022 | B2 |
| 11434922 | Roehn | Sep 2022 | B2 |
| 20010041934 | Yamazaki et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20020107536 | Hussein | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020151799 | Pantages et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| 20030055486 | Adams et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030088310 | Hansen et al. | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030100816 | Siess | May 2003 | A1 |
| 20030149473 | Chouinard et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20030208097 | Aboul-Hosn et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20040064090 | Keren et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040064091 | Keren et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040111006 | Alferness et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040116769 | Jassawalla et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040167415 | Gelfand et al. | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040210236 | Allers et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040260389 | Case et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050033406 | Barnhart et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050049692 | Numamoto et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050079274 | Palasis et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050085848 | Johnson et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050119682 | Nguyen et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050137680 | Ortiz et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050180854 | Grabau et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
| 20060062672 | McBride et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060064059 | Gelfand et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
| 20060106449 | Ben | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060135961 | Rosenman et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
| 20060155322 | Sater et al. | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20060265051 | Caro et al. | Nov 2006 | A1 |
| 20070100415 | Licata et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070100435 | Case et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20070142729 | Pfeiffer et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20070162103 | Case et al. | Jul 2007 | A1 |
| 20070208291 | Patel | Sep 2007 | A1 |
| 20070260327 | Case et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
| 20070282243 | Pini et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20070293808 | Williams et al. | Dec 2007 | A1 |
| 20080009668 | Cohn | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080103591 | Siess | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20080114339 | McBride et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20080132747 | Shifflette | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080132748 | Shifflette | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080140189 | Nguyen et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080154236 | Elkins et al. | Jun 2008 | A1 |
| 20080183280 | Agnew et al. | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20080306327 | Shifflette | Dec 2008 | A1 |
| 20090024195 | Rezai et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20090062597 | Shifflette | Mar 2009 | A1 |
| 20090093764 | Pfeffer et al. | Apr 2009 | A1 |
| 20090093796 | Pfeffer et al. | Apr 2009 | A1 |
| 20090264991 | Paul et al. | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20090287299 | Tabor et al. | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20090318857 | Goodson et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20100049313 | Alon et al. | Feb 2010 | A1 |
| 20100130810 | Mohl | May 2010 | A1 |
| 20100152523 | MacDonald et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20100268017 | Siess | Oct 2010 | A1 |
| 20110004046 | Campbell et al. | Jan 2011 | A1 |
| 20110034874 | Reitan et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
| 20110106244 | Ferrari et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110112567 | Lenker et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20110152999 | Hastings et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110190874 | Celermajer et al. | Aug 2011 | A1 |
| 20110213408 | Gross et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110230949 | Haverkost et al. | Sep 2011 | A1 |
| 20110257462 | Rodefeld et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110264075 | Leung et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
| 20110282128 | Reitan et al. | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20110282274 | Fulton | Nov 2011 | A1 |
| 20110301662 | Bar-yoseph et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| 20120022579 | Fulton | Jan 2012 | A1 |
| 20120059460 | Reitan | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120089047 | Ryba et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120089225 | Akkerman et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| 20120116382 | Ku et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120130469 | Cragg et al. | May 2012 | A1 |
| 20120143141 | Verkaik et al. | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120172654 | Bates | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120172655 | Campbell et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120172656 | Walters et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120178985 | Walters et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120178986 | Campbell et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| 20120224970 | Schumacher et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120234411 | Scheckel | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120237353 | Schumacher et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120237357 | Schumacher et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120245680 | Masuzawa et al. | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20120303112 | Armstrong et al. | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20120316586 | Demarais et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20120328460 | Horvath et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20130053623 | Evans | Feb 2013 | A1 |
| 20130053732 | Heuser | Feb 2013 | A1 |
| 20130060077 | Liebing | Mar 2013 | A1 |
| 20130079874 | Doss et al. | Mar 2013 | A1 |
| 20130085318 | Toellner | Apr 2013 | A1 |
| 20130085319 | Evans et al. | Apr 2013 | A1 |
| 20130177407 | Farineau et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130177409 | Schumacher et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130177432 | Toellner et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
| 20130237744 | Pfeffer et al. | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20130303831 | Evans | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20130303969 | Keenan et al. | Nov 2013 | A1 |
| 20140018840 | Morgan et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140025041 | Fukuoka et al. | Jan 2014 | A1 |
| 20140128659 | Heuring et al. | May 2014 | A1 |
| 20140255176 | Bredenbreuker et al. | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20140275720 | Ferrari | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20140275722 | Zimmermann et al. | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20140350523 | Dehdashtian et al. | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20150005570 | Fritz et al. | Jan 2015 | A1 |
| 20150018597 | Fierens et al. | Jan 2015 | A1 |
| 20150119633 | Haselby et al. | Apr 2015 | A1 |
| 20150157777 | Tuval et al. | Jun 2015 | A1 |
| 20150164662 | Tuval | Jun 2015 | A1 |
| 20150176582 | Liebing | Jun 2015 | A1 |
| 20150258262 | Pfeffer et al. | Sep 2015 | A1 |
| 20150290372 | Muller et al. | Oct 2015 | A1 |
| 20150328382 | Corbett et al. | Nov 2015 | A1 |
| 20150343136 | Nitzan et al. | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| 20150343179 | Schumacher et al. | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| 20150343186 | Nitzan et al. | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| 20160022890 | Schwammenthal et al. | Jan 2016 | A1 |
| 20160051741 | Schwammenthal et al. | Feb 2016 | A1 |
| 20160053768 | Schumacher et al. | Feb 2016 | A1 |
| 20160106896 | Pfeffer et al. | Apr 2016 | A1 |
| 20160129170 | Siess | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160136341 | Pfeffer et al. | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160136342 | Pfeffer et al. | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160136343 | Anagnostopoulos | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160144089 | Woo et al. | May 2016 | A1 |
| 20160184500 | Zeng | Jun 2016 | A1 |
| 20160256620 | Scheckel et al. | Sep 2016 | A1 |
| 20160279310 | Scheckel et al. | Sep 2016 | A1 |
| 20160331378 | Nitzan et al. | Nov 2016 | A1 |
| 20160354525 | Mcbride et al. | Dec 2016 | A1 |
| 20170007403 | Wildhirt et al. | Jan 2017 | A1 |
| 20170014562 | Liebing | Jan 2017 | A1 |
| 20170028115 | Muller | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20170035954 | Muller et al. | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20170049946 | Kapur et al. | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20170071769 | Mangiardi | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170087286 | Spanier et al. | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170087288 | Groß-hardt et al. | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20170100527 | Schwammenthal et al. | Apr 2017 | A1 |
| 20170173237 | Pfeifer et al. | Jun 2017 | A1 |
| 20170197021 | Nitzan et al. | Jul 2017 | A1 |
| 20170215918 | Tao et al. | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20170232168 | Reichenbach et al. | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20170232171 | Roehn et al. | Aug 2017 | A1 |
| 20170290964 | Barry | Oct 2017 | A1 |
| 20170333067 | Wilson | Nov 2017 | A1 |
| 20170333607 | Zarins | Nov 2017 | A1 |
| 20170340791 | Aboul-hosn et al. | Nov 2017 | A1 |
| 20170348470 | D'ambrosio et al. | Dec 2017 | A1 |
| 20180050142 | Siess et al. | Feb 2018 | A1 |
| 20180055979 | Corbett et al. | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20180064861 | Dur et al. | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20180080326 | Schumacher et al. | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20180100507 | Wu et al. | Apr 2018 | A1 |
| 20180104453 | Tao et al. | Apr 2018 | A1 |
| 20180149164 | Siess | May 2018 | A1 |
| 20180149165 | Siess et al. | May 2018 | A1 |
| 20180169312 | Barry | Jun 2018 | A1 |
| 20180169313 | Schwammenthal et al. | Jun 2018 | A1 |
| 20180207334 | Siess | Jul 2018 | A1 |
| 20180228952 | Pfeffer et al. | Aug 2018 | A1 |
| 20180228953 | Siess et al. | Aug 2018 | A1 |
| 20180264182 | Spanier et al. | Sep 2018 | A1 |
| 20180264183 | Jahangir | Sep 2018 | A1 |
| 20180280598 | Curran et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| 20180289877 | Schumacher et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| 20180303990 | Siess et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| 20180303992 | Taskin | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| 20180303993 | Schwammenthal et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| 20180353667 | Moyer et al. | Dec 2018 | A1 |
| 20190015570 | Muller | Jan 2019 | A1 |
| 20190030228 | Keenan et al. | Jan 2019 | A1 |
| 20190046702 | Siess et al. | Feb 2019 | A1 |
| 20190060539 | Siess et al. | Feb 2019 | A1 |
| 20190070345 | Mcbride et al. | Mar 2019 | A1 |
| 20190076167 | Fantuzzi et al. | Mar 2019 | A1 |
| 20190083690 | Siess et al. | Mar 2019 | A1 |
| 20190093769 | Lima Sarabanda et al. | Mar 2019 | A1 |
| 20190101130 | Bredenbreuker et al. | Apr 2019 | A1 |
| 20190117865 | Walters et al. | Apr 2019 | A1 |
| 20190134287 | Demou | May 2019 | A1 |
| 20190143018 | Salahieh et al. | May 2019 | A1 |
| 20190143019 | Mehaffey et al. | May 2019 | A1 |
| 20190170153 | Scheckel | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| 20190175802 | Tuval et al. | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| 20190175803 | Pfeffer et al. | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| 20190175805 | Tuval et al. | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| 20190175806 | Tuval et al. | Jun 2019 | A1 |
| 20190209753 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190209755 | Nix et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190209757 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190209758 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190211836 | Schumacher et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190216994 | Pfeffer et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190224391 | Liebing | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190224392 | Pfeffer et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190224393 | Pfeffer et al. | Jul 2019 | A1 |
| 20190239998 | Tuval et al. | Aug 2019 | A1 |
| 20190262518 | Molteni et al. | Aug 2019 | A1 |
| 20190269840 | Tuval et al. | Sep 2019 | A1 |
| 20190282741 | Franano et al. | Sep 2019 | A1 |
| 20190290817 | Guo et al. | Sep 2019 | A1 |
| 20190307561 | Gosal et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190316591 | Toellner | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190321527 | King et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190321530 | Cambronne et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190321531 | Cambronne et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190328948 | Salahieh et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| 20190336664 | Liebing | Nov 2019 | A1 |
| 20190344001 | Salahieh et al. | Nov 2019 | A1 |
| 20190351118 | Graichen | Nov 2019 | A1 |
| 20200038567 | Siess et al. | Feb 2020 | A1 |
| 20200078506 | Schwammenthal et al. | Mar 2020 | A1 |
| 20200093973 | Gandhi et al. | Mar 2020 | A1 |
| 20200197585 | Scheckel et al. | Jun 2020 | A1 |
| 20200237981 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2020 | A1 |
| 20200237982 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2020 | A1 |
| 20200237984 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2020 | A1 |
| 20200237985 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2020 | A1 |
| 20200246527 | Hildebrand et al. | Aug 2020 | A1 |
| 20200288988 | Goldvasser | Sep 2020 | A1 |
| 20210023285 | Brandt | Jan 2021 | A1 |
| 20210069395 | Tuval et al. | Mar 2021 | A1 |
| 20210170081 | Kanz | Jun 2021 | A1 |
| 20210236797 | D'Ambrosio et al. | Aug 2021 | A1 |
| 20220184376 | Tuval et al. | Jun 2022 | A1 |
| 20220226632 | Tuval et al. | Jul 2022 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2013205145 | May 2013 | AU |
| 2701809 | Apr 2009 | CA |
| 2927346 | Apr 2009 | CA |
| 1033690 | Jul 1958 | DE |
| 10336902 | Aug 2004 | DE |
| 0916359 | May 1999 | EP |
| 1339443 | Sep 2003 | EP |
| 1651290 | May 2006 | EP |
| 1827531 | Sep 2007 | EP |
| 1871441 | Jan 2008 | EP |
| 2047872 | Apr 2009 | EP |
| 2047873 | Apr 2009 | EP |
| 2217300 | Aug 2010 | EP |
| 2218469 | Aug 2010 | EP |
| 2234658 | Oct 2010 | EP |
| 2282070 | Feb 2011 | EP |
| 2298374 | Mar 2011 | EP |
| 2299119 | Mar 2011 | EP |
| 2301598 | Mar 2011 | EP |
| 2308524 | Apr 2011 | EP |
| 2314331 | Apr 2011 | EP |
| 2345440 | Jul 2011 | EP |
| 2366412 | Sep 2011 | EP |
| 2376788 | Oct 2011 | EP |
| 2408489 | Jan 2012 | EP |
| 2424587 | Mar 2012 | EP |
| 2475415 | Jul 2012 | EP |
| 2607712 | Jun 2013 | EP |
| 2040639 | Feb 2014 | EP |
| 2662099 | Sep 2014 | EP |
| 2427230 | Dec 2014 | EP |
| 2396050 | Jan 2015 | EP |
| 2835141 | Feb 2015 | EP |
| 2840954 | Mar 2015 | EP |
| 2841122 | Mar 2015 | EP |
| 2841124 | Mar 2015 | EP |
| 2860849 | Apr 2015 | EP |
| 2868331 | May 2015 | EP |
| 2868332 | May 2015 | EP |
| 2999496 | Mar 2016 | EP |
| 3000492 | Mar 2016 | EP |
| 3000493 | Mar 2016 | EP |
| 3055922 | Aug 2016 | EP |
| 3062730 | Sep 2016 | EP |
| 3115070 | Jan 2017 | EP |
| 3127562 | Feb 2017 | EP |
| 3216467 | Sep 2017 | EP |
| 3222302 | Sep 2017 | EP |
| 3236079 | Oct 2017 | EP |
| 3287154 | Feb 2018 | EP |
| 3287155 | Feb 2018 | EP |
| 3326567 | May 2018 | EP |
| 3329951 | Jun 2018 | EP |
| 3338825 | Jun 2018 | EP |
| 3205360 | Aug 2018 | EP |
| 3359214 | Aug 2018 | EP |
| 3359215 | Aug 2018 | EP |
| 3398624 | Nov 2018 | EP |
| 3398625 | Nov 2018 | EP |
| 3407930 | Dec 2018 | EP |
| 3446729 | Feb 2019 | EP |
| 3446730 | Feb 2019 | EP |
| 3545983 | Oct 2019 | EP |
| 3606575 | Feb 2020 | EP |
| 3737436 | Nov 2020 | EP |
| 3897814 | Oct 2021 | EP |
| 2451161 | Jan 2009 | GB |
| 2504175 | Jan 2014 | GB |
| 2003504091 | Feb 2003 | JP |
| 2012505038 | Mar 2012 | JP |
| 2016509950 | Apr 2016 | JP |
| 9001972 | Mar 1990 | WO |
| 9013321 | Nov 1990 | WO |
| 199401148 | Jan 1994 | WO |
| 9934847 | Jul 1999 | WO |
| 2001083016 | May 2000 | WO |
| 2000043053 | Jul 2000 | WO |
| 0062838 | Oct 2000 | WO |
| 2002070039 | Mar 2001 | WO |
| 2002038085 | May 2002 | WO |
| 03006096 | Jan 2003 | WO |
| 03103745 | Dec 2003 | WO |
| 03103745 | Dec 2003 | WO |
| 2004073796 | Sep 2004 | WO |
| 2005020848 | Mar 2005 | WO |
| 2007081818 | Jul 2007 | WO |
| 2007112033 | Oct 2007 | WO |
| 2007127477 | Nov 2007 | WO |
| 2008005747 | Jan 2008 | WO |
| 2008005990 | Jan 2008 | WO |
| 2008055301 | May 2008 | WO |
| 2008104858 | Sep 2008 | WO |
| 2009010963 | Jan 2009 | WO |
| 2009046096 | Apr 2009 | WO |
| 2009129481 | Oct 2009 | WO |
| 2010042546 | Apr 2010 | WO |
| 2010063494 | Jun 2010 | WO |
| 2010127871 | Nov 2010 | WO |
| 2010133567 | Nov 2010 | WO |
| 2010150208 | Dec 2010 | WO |
| 2011035926 | Mar 2011 | WO |
| 2011047884 | Apr 2011 | WO |
| 2011076441 | Jun 2011 | WO |
| 2011089022 | Jul 2011 | WO |
| 2012007141 | Jan 2012 | WO |
| 2013032849 | Mar 2013 | WO |
| 2013070186 | May 2013 | WO |
| 2013093001 | Jun 2013 | WO |
| 2013148697 | Oct 2013 | WO |
| 2013183060 | Dec 2013 | WO |
| 2014141284 | Sep 2014 | WO |
| 2015063277 | May 2015 | WO |
| 2015160943 | Oct 2015 | WO |
| 2015177793 | Nov 2015 | WO |
| 2016001218 | Jan 2016 | WO |
| 2016005803 | Jan 2016 | WO |
| 2016185473 | Nov 2016 | WO |
| 2016207293 | Dec 2016 | WO |
| 2017053361 | Mar 2017 | WO |
| 2017060254 | Apr 2017 | WO |
| 2017081561 | May 2017 | WO |
| 2017137604 | Aug 2017 | WO |
| 2017147291 | Aug 2017 | WO |
| 2018033920 | Feb 2018 | WO |
| 2018061001 | Apr 2018 | WO |
| 2018061002 | Apr 2018 | WO |
| 2018067410 | Apr 2018 | WO |
| 2018078615 | May 2018 | WO |
| 2018096531 | May 2018 | WO |
| 2018158636 | Sep 2018 | WO |
| 2018172848 | Sep 2018 | WO |
| 2018220589 | Dec 2018 | WO |
| 2018226991 | Dec 2018 | WO |
| 2018234454 | Dec 2018 | WO |
| 2019094963 | May 2019 | WO |
| 2019125899 | Jun 2019 | WO |
| 2019138350 | Jul 2019 | WO |
| 2019152875 | Aug 2019 | WO |
| 2019158996 | Aug 2019 | WO |
| 2019229223 | Dec 2019 | WO |
| 2020152611 | Jul 2020 | WO |
| 2021159147 | Aug 2021 | WO |
| 2021198881 | Oct 2021 | WO |
| 2021205346 | Oct 2021 | WO |
| 2022189932 | Sep 2022 | WO |
| 2023062453 | Apr 2023 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,237 dated Mar. 31, 2021. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 20195082.1 dated Nov. 5, 2020. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 20195084.7 dated Nov. 5, 2020. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 20195085.4 dated Nov. 4, 2020. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 20195987.1 dated Nov. 5, 2020. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Jan. 4, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/278,482 dated Jan. 13, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,264 dated Dec. 16, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Nov. 30, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/277,411 dated Feb. 9, 2021. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Nov. 10, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/280,566 dated Dec. 21, 2020. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/278,482 dated Dec. 2, 2020. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,237 dated Feb. 1, 2021. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,264 dated Nov. 12, 2020. |
| Supplemental Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/278,482 dated Dec. 24, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,327, filed Nov. 19, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,389, filed Nov. 19, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,444, filed Nov. 19, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,064, filed Oct. 13, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,321, filed Oct. 13, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,570, filed Oct. 13, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/070,670, filed Oct. 14, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/077,769, filed Oct. 22, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/078,439, filed Oct. 23, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/078,472, filed Oct. 23, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/176,344, filed Feb. 16, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/177,296, filed Feb. 17, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/180,041, filed Feb. 19, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/182,482, filed Feb. 23, 2021. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 19172327.9 dated Aug. 23, 2019. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 20159714.3 dated Jul. 3, 2020. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 20159716.8 dated Jul. 3, 2020. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 20159718.4 dated Jul. 9, 2020. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IB2020/050515 dated Aug. 21, 2020. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IL2017/051158 dated Jan. 17, 2018. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PT/IB2019/050186 dated Jul. 18, 2019. |
| Invitation to Pay Additional Fees for International Application No. PCT/IB2020/050515 dated Mar. 31, 2020. |
| Invitation to Pay Additional Fees in International Application No. PCT/IB2020/050515 dated Mar. 31, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Sep. 4, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Jun. 19, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/278,482 dated Jun. 23, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,237 dated Aug. 21, 2020. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,264 dated Jun. 29, 2020. |
| Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Jun. 2, 2020. |
| Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Aug. 11, 2020. |
| Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 16/280,566 dated Aug. 11, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 14/567,439, filed Dec. 11, 2014. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559, filed Feb. 14, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965, filed Feb. 15, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/277,411, filed Feb. 15, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/278,482, filed Feb. 18, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352, filed Feb. 19, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/280,566, filed Feb. 20, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,237, filed Feb. 21, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,264, filed Feb. 21, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/750,354, filed Jan. 23, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 61/656,244, filed Jun. 6, 2012. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 61/779,803, filed Mar. 13, 2013. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 61/914,470, filed Dec. 11, 2013. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 61/914,475, filed Dec. 11, 2013. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/000,192, filed May 19, 2014. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/162,881, filed May 18, 2015. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/401,403, filed Sep. 29, 2016. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/412,631, filed Oct. 25, 2016. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/425,814, filed Nov. 23, 2016. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/543,540, filed Aug. 10, 2017. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/615,538, filed Jan. 10, 2018. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/665,718, filed May 2, 2018. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/681,868, filed Jun. 7, 2018. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/727,605, filed Sep. 6, 2018. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/796,138, filed Jan. 24, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/851,716, filed May 23, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/870,821, filed Jul. 5, 2019. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 62/896,026, filed Sep. 5, 2019. |
| “Tanslation of decision of Board 4 (Nullity Board) of the German Federal Patent Court re German patent 10336902”, pronounced Nov. 15, 2016, and appendices to decision, 62 pages. |
| Agarwal, et al., “Newer-generation ventricular assist devices.”, Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology, 26.2, 2012, pp. 117-130. |
| Alba, et al., “The future is here: ventricular assist devices for the failing heart”, Expert review of cardiovascular therapy, 7.9, 2009, pp. 1067-1077. |
| Bai, et al., “A Split-Array, C-2C Switched-Capacitor Power Amplifier in 65 nm CMOS”, IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, 2017, pp. 336-339. |
| Burnett, et al., “Renal Interstitial Pressure and Sodium Excretion During Renal Vein Constriction”, American Physiological Society, 1980, pp. F279-F282. |
| Cassidy, et al., “The Conductance Volume Catheter Technique for Measurement of Left Ventricular Volume in Young Piglets”, Pediatric Research, vol. 31, No. 1, 1992, pp. 85-90. |
| Coxworth, “Artificial Vein Valve Could Replace Drugs for Treating Common Circulatory Problem”, Published on Gizmag website (http://www.gizmag.com/artificial-venous-valve-cvi/21785/), Mar. 9, 2012. |
| Damman, et al., “Decreased Cardiac Output, Venous Congestion and the Association With Renal Impairment in Patients With Cardiac Dysfunction”, European Journal of Heart Failure, vol. 9, 2007, pp. 872-878. |
| Damman, et al., “Increased Central Venous Pressure is Associated With Impaired Renal Function and Mortality in a Broad Spectrum of Patients With Cardiovascular Disease”, Journal of American College of Cardiology, vol. 53, 2009, pp. 582-588. |
| Doty, et al., “The Effect of Increased Renal Venous Pressure on Renal Function”, The Journal of Trauma,, vol. 47(6), Dec. 1999, pp. 1000-1003. |
| Felker, et al., “Anemia as a Risk Factor and Therapeutic Target in Heart Failure”, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 44, 2004, pp. 959-966. |
| Firth, et al., “Raised Venous Pressure: A Direct Cause of Sodium Retention in Oedema?”, The Lancet, May 7, 1988, pp. 1033-1036. |
| Forman, et al., “Incidence, Predictors at Admission, and Impact of Worsening Renal Function Among Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure”, Journal of American College of Cardiology, vol. 43, 2004, pp. 61-67. |
| Fraser, et al., “The use of computational fluid dynamics in the development of ventricular assist devices”, Medical engineering & physics, 33.3, 2011, pp. 263-280. |
| Frazier, et al., “First Human Use of the Hemopump, a CatheterMounted Ventricular Assist Device”, Ann Thorac Surg, 49, 1990, pp. 299-304. |
| Gomes, et al., “Heterologous Valve Implantation in the Infra-Renal Vena Cava for Treatment of the Iliac Venous Valve Regurgitation Disease: Experimental Study”, Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, vol. 17(4), 2002, pp. 367-369. |
| Haddy, et al., “Effect of Elevation of Intraluminal Pressure on Renal Vascular Resistance”, Circulation Research Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 4, 1956, pp. 659-663. |
| Heywood, et al., “High Prevalence of Renal Dysfunction and its Impact on Outcome in 118,465 Patients Hospitalized With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A Report From the ADHERE Database”, Journal of Cardiac Failure, vol. 13, 2007, pp. 422-430. |
| Hillege, et al., “Renal Function as a Predictor of Outcome in a Broad Spectrum of Patients With Heart Failure”, Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 113, 2006, pp. 671-678. |
| Hillege, et al., “Renal Function, Neurohormonal Activation, and Survival in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure”, Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 102, 2000, pp. 203-210. |
| Hsu, et al., “Review of recent patents on foldable ventricular assist devices”, Recent Patents on Biomedical Engineering, 5.3, 2012, pp. 208-222. |
| Ikari, “The Physics of Guiding Catheter; The IKARI Guiding Catheter in TRI”, available at httu:i /www.docstoc.com/docs/148136553/The-[KARI-catheter---anovel-guide-for-TRI-, uploaded on Mar. 8, 2013. |
| Kafagy, et al., “Design of axial blood pumps for patients with dysfunctional fontan physiology: computational studies and performance testing”, Artificial organs, 39.1, 2015, pp. 34-42. |
| Kang, et al., “Fluid dynamics aspects of miniaturized axial-flow blood pump”, Bio-medical materials and engineering, 24.1, 2014, pp. 723-729. |
| Koochaki, et al., “A new design and computational fluid dynamics study of an implantable axial blood pump”, Australasian Physical & Engineering Sciences in Medicine, 36.4, 2013, pp. 417-422. |
| Lauten, et al., “Heterotopic Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Implantation: First-in-Man Application of a Novel Approach to Tricuspid Regurgitation”, European Heart Journal, (1-7 as printed), Feb. 15, 2011, pp. 1207-1213. |
| Mcalister, et al., “Renal Insufficiency and Heart Failure: Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications From a Prospective Cohort Study”, Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association, 109, 2004, pp. 1004-1009. |
| Meyns, et al., “The Heart-Hemopump Interaction: A Study of Hemopump Flow as a Function of Cardiac Activity”, Artificial Organs, Vot. 20, No. 6, 1996, pp. 641-649. |
| Mullens, et al., “Elevated Intra-Abdominal Pressure in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure. A Potential Contributor to Worsening Renal Function”, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 51, 2008, pp. 300-306. |
| Mullens, et al., “Importance of Venous Congestion for Worsening of Renal Function in Advanced Decompensated Heart Failure”, Journal of American College of Cardiology, vol. 53, 2009, pp. 589-596. |
| Mullens, et al., “Prompt Reduction in Intra-Abdominal Pressure Following Large-Volume Mechanical Fluid Removal Improves Renal Insufficiency in Refractory Decompensated Heart Failure”, Journal of Cardiac Failure, vol. 14, 2008, pp. 508-514. |
| Notarius, et al., “Central Venous Pressure During Exercise: Role of Muscle Pump”, Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, vol. 74(6), 1996, pp. 647-651. |
| Park, et al., “Nutcracker Syndrome: Intravascular Stenting Approach”, Nephrol Dial Transplant, vol. 15, 2000, pp. 99-101. |
| Reul, et al., “Blood pumps for circulatory support”, Perfusion-Sevenoaks, 15.4, 2000, pp. 295-312. |
| Reul, et al., “Rotary blood pumps in circulatory assist”, Perfusion, 10(3), May 1995, pp. 153-158. |
| Rodefeld, “Cavopulmonary assist for the univentricular Fontan circulation: von Karman viscous impeller pump”, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 140, No. 3, 2010, pp. 529-536. |
| Schmitz-Rode, et al., “An Expandable Percutaneous Catheter Pump for Left Ventricular Support”, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 45, 2005, pp. 1856-1861. |
| Schmitz-Rode, et al., “Axial flow catheter pump for circulatory support”, Biomed Tech (Berl), 47 Suppl 1 Pt 1, 2002, pp. 142-143. |
| Semple, et al., “Effect of Increased Renal Venous Pressure on Circulatory “Autoregulation” of Isolated Dog Kidneys”, Circulation Research Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 7, 1959, pp. 643-648. |
| Sianos, et al., “The Recover® LP 2.5 catheter-mounted left ventricular assist device”, EuroIntervention, EuroPCROnline.com, 2006, pp. 116-119. |
| Siess, et al., “Concept, realization, and first in vitro testing of an intraarterial microaxial blood pump”, Artificial Organs, vol. 15, No. 7, 1995, pp. 644-652. |
| Siess, et al., “Hemodynamic system analysis of intraarterial microaxial pumps in vitro and in vivo”, Artificial Organs, vol. 20, No. 6, Jun. 1996, pp. 650-661. |
| Siess, “PhD Chapter 3—English translation”, (citation info here: https://www.shaker.eu/en/content/catalogue/index.asp?lang=en&ID=8&ISBN=978-3-8265-6150-4&search=yes ). |
| Song, et al., “Axial flow blood pumps”, ASAIO journal, 49, 2003, pp. 355-364. |
| Tang, et al., “Anemia in Chronic Heart Failure: Prevalence, Etiology, Clinical Correlates, and Treatment Options”, Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 113, 2006, pp. 2454-2461. |
| Throckmorton, et al., “Design of a protective cage for an intra vascular axial flow blood pump to mechanically assist the failing Fontan”, Artificial organs, 33.8, 2009, pp. 611-621. |
| Throckmorton, et al., “Mechanical Cavopulmonary Assist for the Univentricular Fontan Circulation Using a Novel Folding Propeller Blood Pump”, ASAIO Journal, 2007, pp. 734-741. |
| Thunberg, et al., “Ventricular assist devices today and tomorrow”, Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia, 24.4, 2010, pp. 656-680. |
| Timms, “A review of clinical ventricular assist devices”, Medical engineering & physics, 33.9, 2011, pp. 1041-1047. |
| Triep, et al., “Computational Fluid Dynamics and Digital Particle Image Velocimetry Study of the Flow Through an Optimized Micro-axial Blood Pump”, Artificial Organs, vol. 30, No. 5, May 2006, pp. 384-391. |
| Uthoff, et al., “Central venous pressure at emergency room presentation predicts cardiac rehospitalization in patients with decompensated heart failure”, European Journal of Heart Failure, 12, 2010, pp. 469-476. |
| Van Mieghem, et al., “Design and Principle of Operation of the HeartMate PHPTM (Percutaneous Heart Pump)”, EuroIntervention, Jaa-035 2016, doi: 10.4244/ EIJ-D-15-00467, 2016. |
| Vercaemst, et al., “Impella: A Miniaturized Cardiac Support System in an Era of Minimal Invasive Cardiac Surgery”, Presented at the 39th International Conference of the American Society of Extra-Corporeal Technology, Miami, Florida, Mar. 22-25, 2001. |
| Wampler, “The first co-axial flow pump for human use: the Hemopump”, Flameng W. (eds) Temporary Cardiac Assist with an Axial Pump System, 1991. |
| Wencker, “Acute Cardio-Renal Syndrome: Progression From Congestive Heart Failure to Congestive Kidney Failure”, Current Heart Failure Reports, vol. 4, 2007, pp. 134-138. |
| Winton, “The Control of Glomerular Pressure by Vascular Changes Within the Mammalian Kidney, Demonstrated by the Actions of Adrenaline”, Journal of Physiology, vol. 73, Nov. 1931, pp. 151-162. |
| Winton, “The Influence of Venous Pressure on the Isolated Mammalian Kidney”, Journal of Physiology, vol. 72(1), Jun. 6, 1931, pp. 49-61. |
| Wood, “The Mechanism of the Increased Venous Pressure With Exercise in Congestive Heart Failure”, Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 41(11), 1962, pp. 2020-2024. |
| Wu, et al., “Design and simulation of axial flow maglev blood pump”, International Journal of Information Engineering and Electronic Business, 3.2, 2011, p. 42. |
| Yancy, et al., “Clinical Presentation, Management, and In-Hospital Outcomes of Patients Admitted With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure With Preserved Systolic Function. A Report From the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry (ADHERE) Database”, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 47(1), 2006, pp. 76-84. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121 dated Jun. 28, 2022. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,172 dated Feb. 2, 2022. |
| Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2017349920 dated Jun. 2, 2022. |
| Examination Report for Indian Patent Application No. 202047017397 dated May 4, 2022. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 21208803.3 dated Apr. 13, 2022. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 21209256.3 dated Mar. 2, 2022. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated May 17, 2022. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,064 dated May 25, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Mar. 16, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/277,411 dated Feb. 9, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,086 dated Mar. 9, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,172 dated Mar. 23, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,321 dated Mar. 16, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Jan. 26, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121 dated Mar. 9, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,064 dated Dec. 9, 2021. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/176,344 dated Apr. 20, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Jan. 26, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/277,411 dated Dec. 8, 2021. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,086 dated Jan. 7, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121 dated Jun. 1, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,172 dated Jan. 10, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,270 dated Apr. 14, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,321 dated Feb. 2, 2022. |
| Restriction Requirement for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,116 dated Jun. 29, 2022. |
| Supplemental Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Mar. 10, 2022. |
| Supplemental Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Mar. 2, 2022. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,086, filed Mar. 5, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121, filed Mar. 5, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/528,015, filed Nov. 16, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/528,807, filed Nov. 17, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/532,318, filed Nov. 22, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/574,701, filed Jan. 13, 2022. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/677,571, filed Feb. 22, 2022. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/678,122, filed Feb. 23, 2022. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/857,402, filed Jul. 5, 2022. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Nov. 3, 2021. |
| Examination Report for Indian Patent Application No. 201917018651 dated Jun. 30, 2021. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 21156647.6 dated May 21, 2021. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 21158196.2 dated Apr. 8, 2021. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 21158902.3 dated Apr. 29, 2021. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 21158903.1 dated Apr. 9, 2021. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Oct. 20, 2021. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Apr. 13, 2021. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/277,411 dated Jun. 21, 2021. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated May 3, 2021. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IB2021/052590 dated Sep. 14, 2021. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IB2021/052857 dated Oct. 5, 2021. |
| Invitation to Pay Additional Fees for International Application No. PCT/IB2021/052590 dated Jul. 23, 2021. |
| Invitation to Pay Additional Fees for International Application No. PCT/IB2021/052857 dated Jul. 7, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Nov. 10, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/280,566 dated Nov. 10, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/281,237 dated Apr. 14, 2021. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/750,354 dated Nov. 17, 2021. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated May 26, 2021. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/276,965 dated Jul. 26, 2021. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,321 dated Nov. 18, 2021. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Oct. 1, 2021. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/280,566 dated Aug. 31, 2021. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/750,354 dated Oct. 18, 2021. |
| Office Action for Chinese Application No. 201780066201.3 dated Jun. 29, 2021. |
| Office Action for Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-521643 dated Sep. 28, 2021. |
| Supplemental Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/279,352 dated Oct. 21, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 17/609,589, filed Nov. 8, 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/006,122, filed Apr. 7, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/114,136, filed Nov. 16, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/129,983, filed Dec. 23, 2020. |
| Extended European Search Report for EP Patent Application No. 22163640.0 dated Jun. 29, 2022. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121 dated Sep. 20, 2022. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 22155936.2 dated Jul. 8, 2022. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 22163648.3 dated Aug. 10, 2022. |
| Extended European Search Report for European Application No. 22163653.3 dated Jul. 1, 2022. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/176,344 dated Oct. 12, 2022. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IB2022/051990 dated Aug. 10, 2022. |
| Invitation to Pay Additional Fees for International Application No. PCT/IB2022/051990 dated May 13, 2022. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,270 dated Oct. 12, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,327 dated Nov. 8, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,389 dated Dec. 21, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,444 dated Jan. 6, 2023. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,064 dated Nov. 7, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,570 dated Oct. 6, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/070,670 dated Oct. 5, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/077,769 dated Oct. 5, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/180,041 dated Jan. 31, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,121 dated Aug. 19, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,270 dated Jul. 22, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/182,482 dated Jan. 5, 2023. |
| Office Action for Japanese Application No. 2019521643 dated Oct. 27, 2022. |
| Third Party Submission received during the prosecution of U.S. Appl. No. 17/078,439 on Sep. 28, 2022. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/003,955, filed Apr. 2, 2020. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/158,708, filed Mar. 2021. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/254,321, filed Oct. 11, 2021. |
| “Compendium of Technical and Scientific Information for the Hemopump Temporary Cardiac Assist System”, Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems, 1988, pp. 1-15. |
| Achour , et al., “Mechanical Left Ventricular Unloading Prior to Reperfusion Reduces Infarct Size in a Canine Infarction Model”, Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions 64, 2005, pp. 182-192. |
| Butler , et al., “The Hemopump—A New Cardiac Prothesis Device”, Reprinted from IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 37, No. 2, Feb. 1990, pp. 192-195. |
| Chan , et al., “Rapid manufacturing techniques in the development of an axial blood pump impeller”, Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs vol. 217 Part H: J. Engineering in Medicine, 2003, pp. 469-475. |
| Dekker , et al., “Efficacy of a New Intraaortic Propeller Pump vs the Intraaortic Balloon Pump”, Chest, vol. 123, Issue 6, Jun. 2003, pp. 2089-2095. |
| Flameng , “Temporary Cardiac Assist with an Axial Pump System”, Steinkopff Verlag Darmstadt, 1991, 79 pages. |
| Frazier , et al., “Treatment of Cardiac Allograft Failure by use of an IntraAortic Axial Flow Pump”, Journal of Heart Transplantation, St. Louis, vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 408-414, Jul. 1990. |
| Gunther , et al., “Experimentelle Radiologie”, Life Sciences, Berichte Aus Der Rheinischwestfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen Ausgabe Feb. 2002, 9 pages. |
| Ledoux , et al., “Left Ventricular Unloading With Intra-aortic Counter Pulsation Prior to Reperfusion Reduces Myocardial Release of Endothelin-1 and Decreases Infarction Size in a Porcine Ischemia-Reperfusion Model”, Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions 72, 2008, pp. 513-521. |
| Merhige , et al., “Effect of the Hemopump Left Ventricular Assist Device on Regional Myocardial Perfusion and Function”, Reduction of Ischemia during Coronary Occlusion, Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems Supplement 3, Circulation vol. 80, No. 5, Nov. 1989, pp. III-159-III-166. |
| Roundtree , et al., “The Hemopump Cardiac Assist System: Nursing Care of the Patient”, Reprinted from Critical Care Nurse, Apr. 1991. |
| Scholz , et al., “MechanicaL left Ventricular Unloading During High Risk Coronary Angioplasty: First Use of a New Percutaneous Transvalvular Left Ventricular Assist Device”, Catheterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis 31, 1994, pp. 61-69. |
| Siess , “System Analysis and Development of Intravascular Rotation Pumps for Cardiac Assist”, Helmholtz-Institute—Chapter 3, Jun. 1998, 17 pages. |
| Smalling , et al., “Improved Regional Myocardial Blood Flow, Left Ventricular Unloading, and Infarct Salvage Using an Axial-Flow, Transvalvular Left Ventricular Assist Device”, A Comparison With Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation and Reperfusion Alone in a Canine Infarction Model, Presented in part at the American College of Cardiology 38th Annual Scientific Session, Mar. 1990, pp. 1152-1160. |
| Smalling , et al., “The Hemopump: A transvalvular, axial flow, left ventricular assist device”, Coronary Artery Disease, Circulatory support devices in clinical cardiology, vol. 2 No. 6, pp. 666-671, Aug. 1991. |
| Smalling , et al., “Transvalvular Left Ventricular Assistance in Cardiogenic Shock Secondary to Acute Myocardial Infarction”, Evidence for Recovery From Near Fatal Myocardial Stunning, JACC vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 637-644, Mar. 1, 1994. |
| Tamareille , et al., “Left ventricular unloading before reperfusion reduces endothelin-1 release and calcium overload in porcine myocardial infarction”, Cardiopulmonary Support and Physiology, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 136, No. 2, 2008, pp. 343-351. |
| Wampler , “Newspaper Articles”, Captain Hemo, 1988, 6 pages. |
| Wampler , “Newsweek”, Captain Hemo, May 16, 1988, 3 pages. |
| Wampler , “THI Today”, Captain Hemo, Summer 1988, 2 pages. |
| Wampler , “Time Magazine”, Captain Hemo, May 1988, 2 pages. |
| Wampler , et al., “Treatment of Cardiogenic Shock With the Hemopump Left Ventricular Assist Device”, Annual of Thoracic Surgery, vol. 52, pp. 560-513, 1991. |
| Wampler , “U.S. News & World Report”, Captain Hemo, pp. 1-2, May 16, 1988. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 17/182,482 dated Feb. 7, 2023. |
| Examination Report for Australian Patent Application No. 2017349920 dated Nov. 4, 2022. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Jan. 19, 2023. |
| Office Action for Japanese Application No. 2019-521643 dated May 22, 2022. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,116 dated Apr. 7, 2023. |
| Corrected Notice of Allowability for U.S. Appl. No. 17/180,041 dated Jun. 30, 2023. |
| Examination Report for Indian Patent Application No. 202147033522 dated May 24, 2023. |
| Extended Search Report and Preliminary Opinion for European Application No. 23159720.4 dated Jun. 27, 2023. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 22197511.3 dated Dec. 5, 2022. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 23159721.2 dated Jun. 26, 2023. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 23159724.6 dated Jun. 26, 2023. |
| Extended Search Report for European Application No. 23159725.3 dated Jun. 28, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,327 dated Jun. 8, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,389 dated Jul. 18, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 16/952,444 dated Jul. 5, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,570 dated Apr. 28, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/070,670 dated Jun. 2, 2023. |
| Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/077,769 dated Jun. 7, 2023. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion from International Application No. PCT/IB2022/058101 dated Feb. 20, 2023. |
| Issue Notification for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,116 dated May 17, 2023. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/078,439 dated Jun. 1, 2023. |
| Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 17/078,472 dated May 4, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/275,559 dated Jul. 27, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 16/810,116 dated Mar. 13, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/069,064 dated Mar. 8, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/173,944 dated Jul. 10, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/180,041 dated Jun. 13, 2023. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/182,482 dated Apr. 21, 2023. |
| Office Action for Canadian Application No. 3,039,285 dated Mar. 24, 2023. |
| Office Action for Canadian Application No. 3,122,415 dated Mar. 31, 2023. |
| Office Action for Chinese Application No. 201980007116.9 dated Nov. 28, 2022. |
| Office Action for Japanese Application No. 2019-521643 dated Apr. 11, 2023. |
| Office Action for Japanese Application No. 2020-537746 dated Feb. 21, 2023. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 18/121,995, filed Mar. 15, 2023. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 18/122,456, filed Mar. 16, 2023. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 18/122,486, filed Mar. 16, 2023. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 18/122,504, filed Mar. 16, 2023. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 63/317,199, filed Mar. 7, 2022. |
| Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 17/180,041 dated Sep. 18, 2023. |
| Office Action for Canadian Application No. 3,080,800 dated Sep. 12, 2023. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210023287 A1 | Jan 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62615538 | Jan 2018 | US | |
| 62665718 | May 2018 | US | |
| 62681868 | Jun 2018 | US | |
| 62727605 | Sep 2018 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16281264 | Feb 2019 | US |
| Child | 17070323 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/IB2019/050186 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Child | 16281264 | US |
