Dalton, Charles2022-10-062022-10-06196913825074https://hdl.handle.net/10657/12069In the quest for more effective and less traumatic methods of treating heart failure the Baylor University College of Medicine, Department of Physiology, has developed a new method of left ventricular assistance. The method does not require thoracotomy and provides assistance to the failing myocardium. Inherent in this method, however, are some rather severe limitations on the pump and pumping system used in implementing the assist. Most notable among these is a long, small diameter tube (catheter) which is placed in the failing ventricle via a carotid artery in the neck. The catheter is used to withdraw blood from the ventricle for later infusion into the arterial tree. The dimensions of the catheter produce a significant pressure drop which is seen as a vacuum at the pump inlet. This vacuum, with normal pumps, decreases flow rates, increases hemolysis rates and results in other undesirable features of pump performance.application/pdfenThis item is protected by copyright but is made available here under a claim of fair use (17 U.S.C. Section 107) for non-profit research and educational purposes. Users of this work assume the responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing, or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires express permission of the copyright holder.Thesisreformatted digital