The Development of a Biatrial Catheter for a Cardiopulmonary Support System in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

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ABSTRACT Pulmonary arterial hypertension continues to be a devastating chronic disease. Despite a variety of new therapies, this disease process remains highly morbid and fatal. Most therapies are only temporizing and are minimally effective because of the insidious onset and late recognition of this disease process. Double lung transplantation is the only effective treatment; however, because of scarcity of organs and listing inequities, most patients are unlikely to receive a transplant while on the waiting list. Developing an effective long-term support system that can offload the right ventricle and protect the pulmonary vasculature would provide a bridge of support and potential for recovery or management on pharmacological support. The objective and long-term goal of this project is to design a catheter that will eventually be coupled with a pulmonary support system that can prolong the survival and enhance the ability to medically treat patients with pulmonary artery hypertension, as well as provide a chance for those on the lung transplant waiting list to receive an organ. We intend to accomplish this by developing an innovative dual lumen catheter that can be positioned and fixed for a prolonged period of time using a novel engineering mechanism and will properly unload the right ventricle and pulmonary vasculature via an inter-atrial configuration. This will further include an innovative monitoring system to monitor and control flows and protect a deconditioned left ventricle, preventing left sided heart failure.