Chronic Heart Assist System

D. LIOTTA; B. ÁLVAREZ; T.R. CUADRADO; G.A. ABRAHAM; CONICET-PROCOAR INVESTIGATORS

Assisted Circulation IV

Springer-Verlag

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 1995; p. 217 - 232

Chronic heart assist systems for the management of end-stage CHF is a conspicuous challenge for modern cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. At the present time, the chief problem is to have either an implantable or an endogenous source of power. The external console-based blood pump connections would be suppressed. For the past two years our efforts have been directed to employ the contracting power of 2-4 weeks electrical remodelled skeletal muscle. The common insertions of LD and TM muscles from the humerus are detached. A bio-mechanical junction is created between the tendon muscles and a composite dacron-titanium graft. A tension-guide transmits both the muscle displacement and force to the dual pusher-plate blood pump through the actuator. In the tension-guides path a unique muscle force multiplicator is interposed. Chronic heart assistance with a blood pump output of 2-2.5L/m systolic time 300 ms.dp/dt 1800 mmHg/s, 40 strokes/m with 1/2 synchronous counterpulsation is the target. It prevents heart descompensation secondary to chronic unloading. Skeletal-powered muscle ProCor system should be capable, in spite of the wide range of conditions in patients, to accomplish this basic hemodinamics parameters. The first clinical application of ProCor heart assist system is described here.