| abstract |
A ventricular assist device 10 includes a blood conduit 14, which carries the blood ejected from the ventricle to the ventricular assist device, a one-way valve 22, which is provided in the blood conduit and can open only toward the ventricular assist device, an afterload-controlling chamber 11, which temporarily stores the blood ejected from the ventricle, a pressure sensor 23, which measures the pressure in the afterload-controlling chamber, a blood pump 25 and a control unit 26 thereof, a blood conduit 16 that carries the blood to an artery, and a probe 27 for measuring blood flow rate and a flowmeter 28, which control the flow rate of the blood pump 25. The pressure of the afterload-controlling chamber 11 is controlled so as to keep the one-way valve closed during ventricular diastole, and also controlled so as to direct all the blood ejected from the ventricle into the afterload-controlling chamber 11 during ventricular systole. Therefore, a new ventricular assist device can be provided, which enables the native heart to eject blood with very low ejection resistance and ensures sufficient ventricular relaxation and filling. |