Other

Life Extenders Corporation

University of Virginia Patent Foundation

Medquest Products, Inc.

Medforte Research Foundation

University of Utah Research Foundation

Don B Olsen

Paul E Allaire

Pratap S Khanwilkar

Gill Brent Bearnson

James W Long

Eric H Maslen

Gunter W Bramm

B Ajit Kumar

Houston G Wood

Michael Baloh

James F Antaki

Chen Chen

Jed C Ludlow

John W Holfert

Brad E Paden

Pavel Novak

Jeffrey P Decker

Zongli Lin

Ronald Kipp

Paul E Allarie

Wei Jiang

Guoxin Li

Dave B Paden

Ron Flack

Steven W Day

Xinwei Song

Alex Untaroiu

Gunter L Bramm

Amy Throckmorton

Gunter Bramm

James W Long, Jr

Jeffery Decker

Gill B Bearnson

A pump for pumping sensitive fluids, such as blood, having no mechanical contact between the impeller and any other structure. The pump comprises a pump housing, an impeller disposed within the pump housing, a magnetic bearing system for supporting and stabilizing the impeller in five degrees of freedom, and a conformally shaped magnetically linked motor for rotating the impeller. The magnetic bearing system and motor advantageously comprise electromagnets and permanent magnets for stability and control of the impeller, and to reduce size, weight, and pump power consumption. Permanent and electromagnets are disposed on the pump housing and permanent magnets are disposed on the impeller such that by controlling electric current through the electromagnets on the housing, the magnetically suspended impeller functions as the rotor, and the housing as the stator of a D.C. motor. The system advantageously allows for sensing of relative impeller position and dynamic properties without the need for additional sensors. The fluid inlet, pump impeller, housing, and other components are configured such that flow patterns are as smooth and laminar as possible to reduce damage to the fluid, and such that eddies, flow separation, and re-circulation are reduced. In various embodiments, the pump is suitable for short or long-term implantation as a ventricular assist device or as a complete replacement heart in a human patient.

Implantable centrifugal blood pump with hybrid magnetic bearings

A blood pump has an impeller rotatably disposed and magnetically suspended within a cavity of a stator by a plurality of magnetic bearings (passive permanent and active electromagnetic) having impeller magnets on the impeller and stator magnets or coils/poles on the stator. A motor includes impeller magnets on the impeller and coils/poles associated with the stator. A single, annular blood flow path extends axially through the cavity between the impeller and the stator, and between the impeller magnets on the impeller and the stator magnets or the coils/poles on the stator.

Streamlined unobstructed one-pass axial-flow pump

A blood pump has an impeller rotatably disposed and magnetically suspended within a cavity of a stator by a plurality of magnetic bearings including an axial bearing to support the impeller axially in the cavity. The axial bearing includes adjacent impeller magnets and adjacent stator magnets with axially aligned polarities and reverse polarities with respect to adjacent magnets. A motor includes impeller magnets on the impeller and coils and poles associated with the stator. Radial permanent magnet and electromagnetic bearings are also included. The magnetic bearings and the motor have stator magnets or coils and poles disposed radially across the fluid passage from corresponding impeller magnets to define an annular gap positioned radially between the impeller and the stator, and positioned radially between all of the plurality of magnetic bearings, creating a straight through blood path without secondary flow paths.

Axial-flow blood pump with magnetically suspended, radially and axially stabilized impeller

An apparatus and method for a centrifugal fluid pump for pumping sensitive biological fluids, which includes (i) an integral impeller and rotor which is entirely supported by an integral combination of permanent magnets and electromagnetic bearings and rotated by an integral motor, (ii) a pump housing and arcuate passages for fluid flow and containment, (iii) a brushless driving motor embedded and integral with the pump housing, (iv) a power supply, and (v) specific electronic sensing of impeller position, velocity or acceleration using a self-sensing method and physiological control algorithm for motor speed and pump performance based upon input from the electromagnetic bearing currents and motor back emf&mdash;all fitly joined together to provide efficient, durable and low maintenance pump operation. A specially designed impeller and pump housing provide the mechanism for transport and delivery of fluid through the pump to a pump output port with reduced fluid turbulence.

Hybrid magnetically suspended and rotated centrifugal pumping apparatus and method

An inventive blood pump in accordance with this invention includes a housing that has inlet and outlet ports for receiving and discharging blood. A rotor is positioned in the housing's interior for pumping blood between the housing's inlet and outlet ports, with the rotor being capable of motion in three translational and three rotational axes. An assembly for magnetically suspending and rotating the rotor in a contact-free manner with respect to the housing includes only one electromagnetic bearing that actively controls motion of the rotor with respect to one axis selected from the rotor's three translational and three rotational axes, an electromagnetic motor that actively drives motion of the rotor with respect to one of its three rotational axes, and magnetic bearings for passively controlling motion of the rotor with respect to the remaining four of its translational and rotational axes. The inventive blood pump can also be incorporated into an artificial heart.

Pump having a magnetically suspended rotor with one active control axis

An apparatus and method for a centrifugal pump for pumping sensitive biological fluids which includes (i) an integral impeller and rotor which is electromagnetically supported and rotated, (ii) a pump housing and arcuate passages for fluid flow and containment, (iii) a brushless driving motor embedded and integral with the pump housing, (iv) a power supply, and (v) specific electronic sensing and control algorithms&mdash;all fitly joined together to provide efficient, durable and low maintenance pump operation. A specially designed impeller and pump housing provide the mechanism for transport and delivery of fluid through the pump to a pump output port with reduced fluid turbulence.

Electromagnetically suspended and rotated centrifugal pumping apparatus and method

A conductive, non-stick coating is provided using a ceramic material which is conductive, flexible and provides a surface which exhibits the property of lubricity. A room or near room temperature manufacturing process produces a coating of titanium nitride on a substrate, where the coating is amorphous if the substrate is a solid material including plastics, composites, metals, magnets, and ceramics, enabling the substrate to bend without damaging the coating. The coating can also be applied as a conformal coating on a variety of substrate shapes, depending upon the application. The coating is bio-compatible and can be applied to a variety of medical devices.

Method and apparatus for providing a conductive, amorphous non-stick coating

An apparatus and method for a centrifugal fluid pump for pumping sensitive biological fluids, which includes (i) an integral impeller and rotor which is entirely supported by an integral combination of permanent magnets and electromagnetic bearings and rotated by an integral motor, (ii) a pump housing and arcuate passages for fluid flow and containment, (iii) a brushless driving motor embedded and integral with the pump housing, (iv) a power supply, and (v) specific electronic sensing of impeller position, velocity or acceleration using a self-sensing method and physiological control algorithm for motor speed and pump performance based upon input from the electromagnetic bearing currents and motor back emf--all fitly joined together to provide efficient, durable and low maintenance pump operation. A specially designed impeller and pump housing provide the mechanism for transport and delivery of fluid through the pump to a pump output port with reduced fluid turbulence.

Hybrid magnetically suspended and rotated centrifugal pumping apparatus

An electrosurgical blade is provided having a ceramic coating which is conductive, flexible and provides a surface which inhibits the build up of charred tissue. These properties enable the electrosurgical blade to deliver controlled amounts of radio-frequency energy to tissue. The manufacturing process produces a coating of titanium nitride on a stainless steel blade which is amorphous, enabling the electrosurgical blade to bend with the blade in order to perform a wide variety of surgical procedures without damaging the coating. The electrosurgical blade can therefore be used to efficiently cut, coagulate, fulgurate and desiccate tissue. While the blade is primarily used in the monopolar mode, the present invention also encompasses at least two electrosurgical electrodes having the same ceramic coating as the electrosurgical blade, and used in the bipolar mode for coagulation. The coating can be applied on a variety of shapes of electrocautery instruments.

Electrosurgical electrode with a conductive, non-stick coating

The impellor of a blood pump is supported by permanent magnets on the impellor and pump housing and stabilized by an electromagnet on the housing. A control circuit supplies current to the electromagnet to maintain the axial position of the impellor at a control position in which the impellor is in mechanical equilibrium under permanent magnet forces and static axial forces on the impellor to minimize energy consumption in the support of the impellor. The impellor is rotated magnetically and stator coils in the housing are supplied with electric currents having a frequency and amplitude adjusted in relation to blood pressure at the pump inlet to match the flow characteristics of the pump to physiological characteristics of the natural heart. A cavity is formed in the impellor to match the average specific gravity of the impellor and portions of the suspension and drive systems thereon to the specific gravity of blood to further minimize power consumption by the pump. A valve member can be formed on the impellor to mate with a restriction in the pump inlet for pumps used to assist the pumping action of the natural heart.

Magnetically suspended and rotated rotor

An artificial heart device for producing heart pumping action as part of a total artificial heart implant comprising a housing of elongate configuration enclosing a pumping volume of sufficient capacity to provide adequate blood flow within the living being. A deformable diaphragm structure is attached at its perimeter to an interior housing surface approximately at the largest perimeter of the pumping volume to form a deformable partition deviding the pumping volume into a blood chamber and a drive chamber. The diaphragm structure has a modified hemi-ellipsoidal configuration when fully extended, modification being represented by four sections of substantially equal quadrants formed by intersection of the diaphragm structure with two orthogonal planes oriented in parallel relationship with the vertical axis. The curvature of each medial section of each quadrant is reduced or flattened to form a medial section having a lower profile as compared to surrounding ellipsoidal curvature. This structure reduces occurrence of bi-axial folding and enhancing random folding activity within the diaphragm. Valve inlet and outlet means are coupled to the housing in communication with the blood flow chamber for attachment along with the circulatory system of a living being. Pumping means are provided for actuating alternating extension and collapse of the diaphragm structure with respect to the drive chamber to simulate pumping action of the natural heart.

Modified elliptical artificial heart

A novel pump apparatus and method, the pump including a magnetically suspended and rotated impellor inside the pump housing. A novel sensor system detects the position of the impellor and thus provides the necessary information for operation of a suspension circuit for magnetically suspending the impellor. A valve member may be included as part of the impellor to prevent reverse flow in the event of impellor failure when used as a ventricular assist device.

Magnetically suspended and rotated impellor pump apparatus and method

Growing community of inventors

Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America

Don B Olsen