A blood pump for use in CPB and other heart surgeries includes a sterilizable blood pump removably attached to a turbine drive unit. An impeller within the fully enclosed and sterile blood pump moves the blood from the pump inlet to the pump outlet. The pump snaps onto the turbine drive unit and a magnetic coupling between the pump and the drive unit is used to transmit the rotation of a turbine shaft to the pump impeller. The turbine drive unit is preferably a sterilizable unit which may be pla...

A surgical retractor has a connection region to connect to cannulas, tubing, blood pumps, and the like. By fixing these items against the surgical retractor, they are kept out of the surgical field of view and thus do not interfere with the surgery.

A cannula is provided with one or more pressure transducers for measuring fluid pressure interiorly or exteriorly of the cannula. The pressure transducers may be mounted integrally with the tubular wall defining the main lumen of the cannula, or they may comprise differential pressure transducers mounted in dedicated lumens in communication with the main lumen. The pressure measurements from the transducers is used to determine fluid flow rate.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for transporting fluid between different locations within a body cavity and, in one particular application, systems and methods for transporting fluids to maintain at least partial blood flow through a protected blood flow path within the right and/or left side of the heart during surgery. The protected blood flow path may be established by positioning one or more conduits within at least a portion of the right and/or left sides(s) of the hear...

Systems and methods for providing cardiac support provide a cannula body having an inlet and an outlet. The cannula includes a preformed bend sized and configured to extend within the heart chamber between the inlet and the outlet. The cannula is inserted through a first valve into a heart chamber and through a second valve out of the heart chamber. Blood is drawn into the cannula through the inlet and discharged from the cannula through the outlet, thereby bypassing the heart chamber.

A cannula assembly (120) provides access to an interior body region (22). The cannula assembly defines a lumen (24) having a distal region (30). The lumen includes a bend in the distal region to guide deployment in the body region. A closure assembly (44, 46, 48) can be provided to open, and close the cannula assembly to fluid flow.

A blood pump for use in CPB and other heart surgeries includes a reusable motor stator element which is enclosed in a disposable, sterile pump housing. The reusable, non-sterilized motor stator element is completely encased by the pump housing so that the motor stator can be reused without sterilization. The sterile housing allows the blood pump to be placed closed to the patient and within the sterile surgical field. The placement of the blood pump close to the heart during heart surgery greatl...