To be effective, augmenting blood circulation systems needs correct timing and trigger concerning the patient’s heart rate. In specific scenarios, the augmentation trigger timing can be out of phase with the augmentation need of the cyclic process. This can result in counterproductive outcomes such as irreparable damage and even fatality.
Therefore, such augmentation systems require an instantaneous trigger to response time to remain in tandem with the heart rhythm. Existing sophisticated systems may perform a real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure monitoring to trigger an augmentation event. They leverage elaborate pneumatic systems that use working gas or air controlled by solenoids to avoid inertial delays caused by typical mechanical systems.
The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) can reduce the workload on the heart, allowing it to pump more blood. A catheter connected to the device is placed inside the aorta, and the balloon at the end of the catheter inflates and deflates with the heart’s rhythm. As the blood exits from the aorta, its pressure is further augmented by timing the expansion of the balloon to occur in tandem. This creates increased perforation of blood through the system as the volume displaced by the expanding balloon pushes more blood down the aorta.
