Baylor College of Medicine

Micromed Technology, Inc.

Michael E DeBakey

Robert J Benkowski

Louis W Feldman

James W Bacak

George P Noon

Bernard J Rosenbaum

Paul I Weiss

Dochan Kwak

Cetin Kiris

A blood pump that comprises a pump housing having a blood flow path therethrough, a blood inlet, and a blood outlet; a stator mounted to the pump housing, the stator having a stator field winding for producing a stator magnetic field; a flow straightener located within the pump housing, and comprising a flow straightener hub and at least one flow straightener blade attached to the flow straightener hub; a rotor mounted within the pump housing for rotation in response to the stator magnetic field, the rotor comprising an inducer and an impeller; the inducer being located downstream of the flow straightener, and comprising an inducer hub and at least one inducer blade attached to the inducer hub; the impeller being located downstream of the inducer, and comprising an impeller hub and at least one impeller blade attached to the impeller hub; and preferably also comprising a diffuser downstream of the impeller, the diffuser comprising a diffuser hub and at least one diffuser blade. Blood flow stagnation and clot formation within the pump are minimized by, among other things, providing the inducer hub with a diameter greater than the diameter of the flow straightener hub; by optimizing the axial spacing between the flow straightener hub and the inducer hub, and between the impeller hub and the diffuser hub; by optimizing the inlet angle of the diffuser blades; and by providing fillets or curved transitions between the upstream end of the inducer hub and the shaft mounted therein, and between the impeller hub and the shaft mounted therein.

Rotary blood pump

A totally or partially implantable fluid delivery system actuated by a valveless piezoelectric drive system. The drive system may actuate an artificial heart by a hydraulic bladder or directly actuate a human heart. The drive system has an output with a frequency and displacement sufficient to directly drive a human or artificial heart and includes a control circuit for recapturing and reusing the power driving the piezoelectric drive system. An artificial heart which includes two check valves having a flexible valve element and supporting tabs on opposite sides.

Piezoelectric fluid pumping system for use in the human body

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Michael E DeBakey