Direct Cardiac Compression Device for Short-Term Mechanical Circulatory Support

Patients requiring short-term ventricular assistance have limited options. While not all interventions necessarily require blood-contacting support, all current devices are invasive and interact with the bloodstream. Direct cardiac compression (DCC) devices offer a potential solution by providing mechanical circulatory support (MCS) without contact with the bloodstream. This proof-of-concept study compares a novel DCC patch device for short-term MCS to open-chest cardiac compression (OCCC) using an ex vivo ovine cardiac arrest (CA) heart model. Performance is evaluated by assessing pressure, flow rate, and valve functionality, as well as any damage to the tissue. In the CA model, the device achieves 1.5 L/min cardiac output and a mean aortic pressure of 55 mm Hg. Despite direct epicardial contact, the DCC patch device maintains effective valve function. This study demonstrates that the DCC patch device achieves comparable performance to OCCC, supporting previous in vitro findings. Our results suggest the potential for this novel DCC patch device to be applied across a range of short-term MCS scenarios.