282 results about "Cardiac surgery" patented technology

A surgical system or assembly for performing cardiac surgery includes a surgical instrument; a servo-mechanical system engaged to the surgical instrument for operating the surgical instrument; and an attachment assembly for removing at least one degree of movement from a moving surgical cardiac worksite to produce a resultant surgical cardiac worksite. The surgical system or assembly also includes a motion tracking system for gathering movement information on a resultant surgical cardiac worksite. A control computer is engaged to the attachment assembly and to the motion tracking system and to the servo-mechanical system for controlling movement of the attachment assembly and for feeding gathered information to the servo-mechanical system for moving the surgical instrument in unison with the resultant surgical cardiac worksite such that a relative position of the moving surgical instrument with respect to the resultant surgical cardiac worksite is generally constant. A video monitor is coupled to the control computer; and an input system is coupled to the servo-mechanical system and to the control computer for providing a movement of the surgical instrument. The video monitor displays movement of the surgical instrument while the resultant surgical cardiac worksite appears substantially stationary, and while a relative position of the surgical instrument moving in unison with the resultant surgical cardiac worksite, as a result from the movement information gathered by the motion tracking system, remains generally constant. A method of performing cardiac surgery without cardioplegia comprising removing at least one degree of movement freedom from a moving surgical cardiac worksite to produce at least a partially stationary surgical cardiac worksite while allowing a residual heart section, generally separate from the at least partially stationary surgical cardiac worksite, to move as a residual moving heart part. Cardiac surgery is performed on the at least partially stationary cardiac worksite with a surgical instrument such as needle drivers, forceps, blades and scissors.

A system for manipulating a heart during cardiac surgery permits coronary surgery on a beating heart while maintaining cardiac output unabated and uninterrupted. Circumflex coronary artery surgery can be performed using the system. The system locates a suspension head near the apical region of the heart and a gross support near the base of the heart near the AV groove. A frame is positioned within the patient's thoracic region and moves with the patient, and a surgical target immobilizer can be used to assist in the movement of the heart if desired. A special suction cup is used which accommodates multiplanar movement of the heart and the myocardium while also preventing heart tissue from interrupting the suction being applied to the heart. One form of the system can be used in minimally invasive surgery.

A minimal intrusive cardiac support apparatus is disclosed which requires only one incision into a main blood vessel or heart chamber. The apparatus includes a pair of generally coaxial and slideably arranged cannulae (one inner and one outer) communicatively coupled to a blood pump for providing right-heart and / or left-heart cardiac support during cardiac surgery. Optional balloons may be mounted on the outside of the inner and outer conduits which can be selectively inflated to seal off the sides surrounding vessel or to deliver cooling fluid or medication to the surrounding tissue. Using the apparatus, a method of pumping blood through the body is also disclosed.

A deployment device for deploying a material into a patient, said deployment device having a housing and a placement device including a retracted condition within the housing for holding a material, in a collapsed condition, within the housing and an extended condition from the housing for disposing and releasing the material at a predetermined site in an uncollapsed condition. A method of deploying a material by placing the placement device in an extended condition and affixing the material to the extended placement device, retracting the placement device into the housing with the material in a collapsed condition, extending the placement device, and placing the material at a predetermined site in an uncollapsed condition.

A balloon arterial cannula and methods for filtering blood. The devices generally include a mesh for filtering blood flowing within a blood vessel, particularly within an artery such as the aorta, a structure adapted to open and close the mesh within the blood vessel, a means to actuate the structure, and a balloon occluder which typically includes a flexible material enclosing a chamber. The methods generally include the steps of introducing a mesh into a blood vessel to capture embolic material, adjusting the mesh, if necessary, during the course of filtration, inflating the balloon occluder to occlude the vessel upstream of the mesh, and thereafter deflating the balloon occluder and removing the mesh and the captured foreign matter from the blood vessel. Additionally, visualization techniques are used to ensure effective filtration.

Systems and methods are provided for predicting the onset of postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) from electrocardiogram (ECG) data representing a patient. A signal processing component determines parameters representing the activity of the heart of the patient from the ECG data. A feature extraction component calculates a plurality of features useful in predicting postoperative AF from the determined parameters. A classification component determines an AF index for the patient from the calculated plurality of features. The AF index represents the likelihood that the patient will experience AF.