innovation highlight

Expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support - ECP

The focus of the project entitled Expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support - ECP", conducted by the Aachen Medical Technology Centre of Expertise, is the development of a prototype of an expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support. The catheter system is deployed like a cardiac catheter, under illuminated guidance, via a vessel puncture site in the femoral artery. Operative exposure of the vessel is not required. In the event of an acute myocardial infarction, the device can provide short-term, mechanical cardiac support (24 72 hours). The main area of application is within the cardiac catheter laboratory, during and after interventions involving the coronary vessels (coronary balloon dilatation, stent implantation).

HASH(0x30c7a38)

Diseases of the cardiovascular system are still the number one cause of death in western industrial nations. Many of these diseases can be treated with drugs, but surgical intervention is often required, especially if the cardiac muscle has been directly affected. As well as pacemakers, defibrillators and coronary stents, cardiac support systems are increasingly being used either as a temporary bridging solution until heart transplant, eventual cardiac recovery or as a definitive solution (destination therapy). In recent years, it has also become evident that, if the device is implanted for long enough, the cardiac muscle is well able to recover and completely regenerate itself. At the Helmholtz Institute of Biomedical Technology at the RWTH in Aachen, fully-implantable, intravascular miniature blood pumps have been in development for many years. Rotational blood pumps in particular, in view of their high energy density and resulting small size, are absolutely ideal for these applications.

The cardiovascular group is currently working as part of a project by the Aachen Medical Technology Centre of Expertise on an expanding, temporary left heart support device that can be introduced via a femoral puncture site. The external diameter is 3 mm. Within the heart, the pump head can be expanded to over 6 mm. In collaboration with the industry sector, this pump is set to be able to take over the duties of the heart for 2-4 days, with an output of 2.5 - 4.0 litres per minute. The present stage of development is as follows:

Ability to compress and expand demonstrated in trials in vitro and in vivo.
Positioning via the aortic valve through a femoral artery puncture site has been demonstrated in vivo.
Guide cannula and external driver implemented, run time 6 - 72 hours.
Output at 30,000 rpm against 60 mm Hg: 2.0 - 4.0 l/min.
Blood damage in the physiological range.

At the present time, the focus lies on the development of the existing laboratory prototype. The aim is to achieve greater durability of the miniature turbine and greater reproducibility for small-series production as part of further animal-based trials.

Topic: Health and Medicine
Source: Aachener Kompetenzzentrum Medizintechnik

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	innovation highlight Expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support - ECP The focus of the project entitled Expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support - ECP", conducted by the Aachen Medical Technology Centre of Expertise, is the development of a prototype of an expanding catheter pump for temporary cardiac support. The catheter system is deployed like a cardiac catheter, under illuminated guidance, via a vessel puncture site in the femoral artery. Operative exposure of the vessel is not required. In the event of an acute myocardial infarction, the device can provide short-term, mechanical cardiac support (24 72 hours). The main area of application is within the cardiac catheter laboratory, during and after interventions involving the coronary vessels (coronary balloon dilatation, stent implantation). HASH(0x30c7a38) Diseases of the cardiovascular system are still the number one cause of death in western industrial nations. Many of these diseases can be treated with drugs, but surgical intervention is often required, especially if the cardiac muscle has been directly affected. As well as pacemakers, defibrillators and coronary stents, cardiac support systems are increasingly being used either as a temporary bridging solution until heart transplant, eventual cardiac recovery or as a definitive solution (destination therapy). In recent years, it has also become evident that, if the device is implanted for long enough, the cardiac muscle is well able to recover and completely regenerate itself. At the Helmholtz Institute of Biomedical Technology at the RWTH in Aachen, fully-implantable, intravascular miniature blood pumps have been in development for many years. Rotational blood pumps in particular, in view of their high energy density and resulting small size, are absolutely ideal for these applications. The cardiovascular group is currently working as part of a project by the Aachen Medical Technology Centre of Expertise on an expanding, temporary left heart support device that can be introduced via a femoral puncture site. The external diameter is 3 mm. Within the heart, the pump head can be expanded to over 6 mm. In collaboration with the industry sector, this pump is set to be able to take over the duties of the heart for 2-4 days, with an output of 2.5 - 4.0 litres per minute. The present stage of development is as follows: Ability to compress and expand demonstrated in trials in vitro and in vivo. Positioning via the aortic valve through a femoral artery puncture site has been demonstrated in vivo. Guide cannula and external driver implemented, run time 6 - 72 hours. Output at 30,000 rpm against 60 mm Hg: 2.0 - 4.0 l/min. Blood damage in the physiological range. At the present time, the focus lies on the development of the existing laboratory prototype. The aim is to achieve greater durability of the miniature turbine and greater reproducibility for small-series production as part of further animal-based trials. Topic: Health and Medicine Source: Aachener Kompetenzzentrum Medizintechnik	Print page Back