A novel catheter with retractable stent that can prevent aortic insufficiency during left ventricular assist

Left ventricle (LV) assist, which refers to the use of a mini-pump or catheter implanted across the aortic valve connected to the pump, can promote myocardial recovery after left ventricle failure. However, conventional LV assist catheters compress the aortic valve, which can induce aortic insufficiency. Here we describe a novel LV assist catheter containing a retractable stent at its distal end that may prevent such insufficiency. The device was tested in six goats in which the coronary artery was ligated to induce acute LV failure, and then an LV assist was installed with a novel catheter in the left ventricle via the left subclavian artery. Inserting the catheter into the left ventricle caused mild to moderate aortic insufficiency. Releasing the stent maintained the catheter in the center of the three valve leaflets, which resolved the aortic insufficiency and, within a few minutes, led to significantly lower left ventricle end diastolic pressure (9.0±3.0 mmHg) than without stent release (17.6±5.0 mmHg, p = 0.012) as well as significantly higher left ventricle dP/dt(max) (614±299 mmHg/s) than without stent release (343±245 mmHg/s, p = 0.03). Our results indicate that this novel drainage catheter with retractable stent can effectively prevent aortic insufficiency by maintaining the catheter in the center of the aortic valve leaflets, thereby lowering left ventricular end diastolic pressure and improving systolic function.