IMR Press / RCM / Volume 23 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2306211
Open Access Review
The CorInnova Implantable Cardiac Assist System for Direct Cardiac Compression
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1 Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
2 CorInnova, Inc., Houston, TX 77021, USA
3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
*Correspondence: letsoumd@gmail.com (George V. Letsou)
§George V. Letsou previously worked at Division of Cardiothoracic Transplantation and Circulatory Support, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Academic Editor: Francesco Onorati
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2022, 23(6), 211; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2306211
Submitted: 9 March 2022 | Revised: 5 April 2022 | Accepted: 10 May 2022 | Published: 9 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions for the failing left ventricle)
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

The CorInnova cardiac compression device (CorInnova, Inc., Houston, TX, USA) is designed to provide direct biventricular support, increase cardiac output, and improve ventricular unloading in patients with heart failure. Placed within the pericardium and surrounding both ventricles, the device has two concentric sets of thin-film polyurethane chambers: (1) inner (epicardial) saline-filled chambers that conform intimately to the epicardial surface, eradicating any gaps in the interface between the device and the heart; and (2) outer air-filled chambers cycled to provide epicardial compression during systole and negative epicardial pressure during diastole, consistent with physiological cardiac contraction and relaxation. A superelastic, collapsible Nitinol frame gives the device structure, enables minimally invasive self-deployment, and enhances diastolic filling. Preclinical testing has been extremely promising, with improvements in cardiac output and other cardiac parameters in animal heart failure models. This potentially transformative technology is moving rapidly toward first-in-human use. The CorInnova device may provide an effective device-based solution for patients with heart failure who currently have few or limited mechanical cardiac support options, including patients with biventricular cardiac failure, those with right heart failure, those who are older, and those who are of smaller size. It can be removed easily and requires minimal maintenance. An important, unique feature of this technology is that it provides mechanical cardiac assistance without blood contact or need for anticoagulation. The CorInnova device may be particularly important for those patients who have contraindications to anticoagulation due to allergy, neurological bleeds, or preexisting hemorrhage. No other mechanical circulatory support device addresses these underserved heart-failure populations.

Keywords
heart-assist devices
assisted circulation
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
cardiac output
stroke volume
minimally invasive surgical procedures
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