Abstract
The development of an intra-aortic balloon pump has revolutionized the care of patients with cardiac shock (1-4). Many adult patients are getting great benefits from this achievement. This laboratory has recently successfully developed miniature components of an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) system for small patients (5). The smallest balloon catheters are 0.75cc to 2.0cc on 3.75 French catheters, which can be introduced into the descending aorta in newborn babies through a femoral artery. The principles of balloon pumping (4) are the same for children as for adults. The effectiveness of the system has been proved, both in in vitro testing systems and in small animals with and without experimental heart failure, including some kinds of acquired and congenital heart failure. This paper introduces the miniature IABP system for small patients, and the experimental results in small animals and in vitro testing systems.
