IMPLANTABLE HEART ASSIST SYSTEM AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME

摘要

An extracardiac pumping system (900) for supplementing the circulation of blood, including the cardiac output, in a patient without any component thereof being connected to the patient's heart, and methods of using same. One embodiment provides a vascular graft (912) with a first end (916) sized and configured to couple to a non-primary blood vessel (920) and a second end (918) fluidly coupled to a pump to conduct blood between the pump (910) and the non-primary blood vessel (920). An outflow conduit (914) is also provided that has a first end (924) sized and configured to be positioned within the same or different blood vessel, whether primary or non-primary, through the vascular graft (912). The outflow conduit (914) is fluidly coupled to the pump (910) to conduct blood between the pump (910) and the patient. The vascular graft (912) may be connected to the blood vessel subcutaneously to permit application of the extracardiac pumping system (900) in a minimally-invasive procedure.