A pumping system (200) for controlling the flow of interatrial blood comprises, housed inside a container (201), a control element (30, 30′, 30″) of the interatrial blood flow. The control element comprises: at least one worm screw (31), the rotation of which creates a two-way flow of interatrial blood; or a pair of counter-rotating propellers (31′); or a pair of membranes (31″) whose deformation creates a two-way flow of interatrial blood; or a flexible structure (31″) whose change in volume within the container (201) creates a two-way flow of interatrial blood.

Improved systems and methods for extracorporeal blood temperature control and patient temperature control, e.g., for induced hypothermia and optional normothermia, may include or otherwise employ a heat exchanger for cooling/warming of a fluid, a thermal exchange module having fluidly isolated first and second volumes, and a fluid pump for circulating the fluid through the heat exchanger and the first volume of the thermal exchange module. A blood pump may be provided for the flow of blood through the second volume of the thermal exchange module, and a first controller may be provided for providing output signals for use in operation of the heat exchanger to selectively control thermal exchange between the fluid circulated through the first volume of the thermal exchange module and the blood flowed through the second volume of the thermal exchange module, thereby providing for selective cooling/warming of the blood. A multi lumen catheter may be utilized for the flow of blood from a patient vascular system to the second volume of the thermal exchange module, and for flow of blood from the second volume of the thermal exchange module back to the patient vascular system. The circulated fluid may be optionally circulated through a patient contact pad(s) for contact cooling/warming, wherein patient cooling/warming may be provided in a first mode via blood cooling/warming in the thermal exchange module, and patient cooling/warming may be provided in a second mode via thermal exchange by the contact pad(s).

Methods and devices for tying management of an implantable medical device to the activities of a primary care physician are described, including access control, simplified parameter optimization, support for tuning a device in response to the effects of other treatments in parallel, and support for helping a primary physician and a patient work together to tune device configuration to the activity and performance needs of the patient. In some embodiments, a medical device is self-configuring in a device parameter domain, based on inputs provided in a patient performance domain. The self-configuring of the medical device is based, for example, on an automatically applied transformation of inputs derived from patient performance domain observations into changes in the configuration of the medical device which affect technical parameters of its operation.

Some systems and methods for treating heart tissue may include instruments for intermittently occluding the coronary sinus using a coronary sinus occlusion catheter device. In some embodiments, the coronary sinus occlusion catheter can be used before or during a coronary intervention procedure in which a blockage in a heart is repaired or removed.

A blood circulation assist system includes a ventricular assist device (VAD) and a controller. The VAD is attachable to a heart of a patient to pump blood from a ventricle of the heart into a blood vessel of the patient. The VAD includes an impeller, a motor stator operable to rotate the impeller, and an accelerometer generating an accelerometer output indicative of accelerations of the VAD. The controller controls operation of the motor stator to control rotational speed of the impeller based on the accelerometer output.

Method and systems control a rotational speed of a blood pump during ventricular diastole. A method includes controlling a blood pump in accordance with a first segment operational mode. A controller monitors the blood flow rate through the blood pump. The controller determines, based on the blood flow rate, whether continued controlling of the blood pump per the first segment operational mode would result in the blood flow rate through the blood pump being less than a target minimum blood flow rate. In response to a determination that continued controlling of the blood pump per the first segment operational mode would result in the blood flow rate through the blood pump being less than the target minimum blood flow rate, the controller controls the rotational speed of the blood pump so that the blood flow rate through the blood pump is approximate to the target minimum blood flow rate.

An implantable ventricular assist device comprises an intraventricular stent used for the creation of an artificial chamber inside the ventricle, a balloon-like structure used to drive the change of the artificial chamber between a contractile configuration and a diastolic configuration, a power system used for driving the change of the balloon-like structure between the contractile configuration and the diastolic configuration. There is also a power system and a mechanical design to operate the system working, wherein in the contractile configuration, the balloon-like structure expands and occupies the space of the artificial chamber and drives the blood inside the artificial chamber flow outside the artificial chamber, wherein in the diastolic configuration, the balloon-like structure shrinks and releases the space inside the artificial chamber, and the blood outside the artificial chamber flows back into the artificial chamber. It is easy to reach the goal of cardiac function.

Described are systems and methods for administration of nitric oxide (NO) with use of left ventricular assists devices (LVADs), as well as systems and methods for monitoring the NO delivery devices and/or the LVAD.

The heart pump includes: a rotary impeller inserted in the systemic ventricle, the rotary impeller being provided with: a sealing membrane sutured onto the outer wall of the heart so as to secure the rotary impeller to the wall of the heart; a casing arranged inside the systemic ventricle such as to be able to suction and then discharge the blood; a preferably brushless motor connected to the casing and arranged inside the systemic ventricle and/or in the body of the ventricle, so as to facilitate maintenance; a managing unit installed in the epigastric region and including a preferably rechargeable power source and a unit for controlling the rotary impeller; a wired link between the managing unit and the rotary impeller; and a system for transmitting haemodynamic and rhythmic data measured by the heat pump via telemedicine.

A ventricular assist device includes a stent for placement within a cardiac artery and arranged for placement, the stent arranged to have an open configuration defining a flow path, a rotor sized to fit within the stent and arranged for percutaneous placement the flow path, the rotor including a surface disposed about a central portion and angled with respect to the flow path and having a first plurality of magnets. A collar is sized for placement about the cardiac artery and includes a stator. A power source is coupled to the stator, and the stator and the rotor are arranged to rotate the rotor about an axis. A timing control module controls a rotational speed of the rotor. Accordingly, the surface of the rotor is arranged to move blood along the flow path in response to rotation of the rotor.