Blood pump

Abstract

An electric motor controller for driving and controlling an electric motor of a blood pump, the electric motor including at least three motor winding units, wherein each motor winding unit is individually connected to a power supply via a separate phase power line connected to respective motor winding unit terminals. The electric motor controller includes respective phase power line driving units and a control unit for each motor winding unit. The phase power line driving units are respectively connectable to one of the motor winding units via the respective phase power lines. The control unit is configured to control the phase power line driving units to operate the electric motor. Wherein, in the case where a fault in the motor winding units is defined by a short circuit between the wires of two of the motor winding units, the control unit is configured to: detect two faulty motor winding units based on a comparison of the actual currents through the two faulty motor winding units; determine one of the two faulty motor winding units as the faulty motor winding unit, and the corresponding phase power line driving unit will be cut off.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with international application number PCT / EP2018 / 052797, international filing date February 5, 2018, Chinese national application number CN201880008332.0, date of entry into the Chinese national phase July 24, 2019, and invention title "Blood Pump". Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of ventricular assist devices (VADs) for percutaneous insertion. In particular, the present invention relates to a circuit configuration of a motor winding unit in a motor of a VAD such as a percutaneous insertion blood pump, for example an intravascular rotary blood pump and its control, and a control device for such a VAD. Background Art

[0003] VADs driven by motors having motor windings are generally known. A specific example of a VAD such as a percutaneous insertion blood pump is a catheter-based rotary blood pump, which is arranged to be placed or implanted directly through a blood vessel into the heart for several hours or days to assist heart function until recovery.

[0004] US 5911685A discloses an exemplary intravascular rotary blood pump. However, there are also other types of VADs including motors.

[0005] The motor for driving a VAD is an important component of the VAD in terms of the function of the VAD, which is used to provide the required assistance to the patient's heart. Motor failure may cause serious problems, and even if the VAD can be replaced, such replacement will bring unnecessary risks. Summary of the Invention

[0006] A first object of the present invention is to provide an improved electric drive for a VAD, by which the risk of motor failure can be reduced, and in particular, complete detachment of the motor can be avoided.

[0007] Furthermore, a second object of the present invention is to provide an improved control method and device for an improved motor for achieving the first object, for further operating the motor in the case of a motor winding failure.

[0008] At least one of the objects is achieved by the features of the respective independent claims. Further embodiments are defined in the respective dependent claims.

[0009] The core idea of the present invention is to use an electric motor to drive a VAD, in particular a percutaneous implantable blood pump, such as an intravascular rotary blood pump, wherein the motor windings are arranged in a circuit configuration that avoids any electrical circuit interconnection between any one motor winding and the respective other motor windings. Preferably, all the motor windings are operated individually via separate power supply lines. Advantageously, if a fault occurs in any one of the motor windings, the motor can still be operated by stopping the operation of the affected motor winding or adjusting the parameters of the affected motor winding. For example, if an interruption occurs in one of the phase power supply lines of any one motor winding, the motor can still be operated by the remaining motor windings. For example, if a short circuit exists between two specific windings, one of the affected windings can be stopped from operating so that the motor can still be operated by the remaining motor windings. For example, if a short circuit exists within a specific winding (e.g., a turn-to-turn short circuit), the affected winding can be stopped from operating or operated with adjusted parameters so that the motor can still be operated by the remaining motor windings. For example, if a fault current exists from a specific winding to, for example, the housing of the pump, the affected winding can be stopped from operating so that the motor can still be operated by the remaining motor windings.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention provides a blood pump for percutaneous implantation, such as for intravascular applications. The blood pump includes an electric motor for driving the blood pump. The electric motor includes at least three motor winding units. Each motor winding unit is arranged and configured to be connected to a power supply via two respective independent phase power supply lines, one of the two phase power supply lines being connected to one of the two motor winding unit terminals and the other being connected to the other of the motor winding terminals.

[0011] A particular motor winding unit includes at least one corresponding motor winding, but is not limited to a particular winding. That is, a motor winding unit can include more than one winding. In particular, a motor winding unit can include more than one winding connected in parallel with each other. For example, a motor winding unit can include more than one winding implemented in different layers and connected in parallel to form a multi-layer winding of the motor winding unit. For example, one winding can be composed of two parallel-connected leads arranged in different layers and connected in parallel to form respective motor winding units.

[0012] Preferably, the electric motor is a synchronous motor. Most preferably, the electric motor is a permanent magnet excited synchronous motor, i.e., it includes a rotor including permanent magnets.

[0013] Preferably, the motor includes at least three motor winding units, and each motor winding unit has two corresponding phase power lines. In a specific embodiment, the motor includes three motor winding units, and each of the corresponding motor winding unit terminals is connected to a corresponding phase power line.

[0014] A second aspect of the present invention provides a motor controller for driving and controlling a motor of a blood pump according to the first aspect of the present invention. The motor controller includes corresponding switchable phase power line driving units for each motor winding unit. Each switchable phase power line driving unit is connected to one of the motor winding units via two corresponding phase power lines.

[0015] Preferably, the phase power line driving unit is implemented by two half-bridge units, and the two half-bridge units are switchable to cooperatively control the power supplied to each motor winding unit.

[0016] Preferably, the motor controller includes at least one of the following: respective phase current measuring units for measuring the actual value of the current passing through the corresponding motor winding units; a total current measuring unit for measuring the actual value of the total current passing through all motor winding units; and respective measuring units configured to measure the respective induced back electromotive force, back EMF, voltage of each motor winding unit when the respective motor winding unit is not driven, that is, when the respective motor winding unit is disconnected from the power supply, also known as back electromotive force, CEMF, voltage.

[0017] Preferably, the motor controller includes a control unit that is operably connected to and controls the phase power line driving units, and is configured to drive and control at least one of the rotational speed, the rotational direction, and the torque generated by the motor.

[0018] Preferably, the control unit is configured to detect a fault in one of the motor winding units. Further, the control unit is configured to, in the case of detecting a faulty motor winding unit, cut off the corresponding phase power line driving unit of the faulty motor winding unit and further operate the motor through the remaining motor windings. Alternatively, the control unit may be configured to further drive the faulty motor winding unit with adjusted parameters and further operate the motor through all motor windings. That is to say, the blood pump can continue to operate only through the remaining motor winding units, or all motor winding units can continue to operate, in which case the faulty motor winding unit is operated with adjusted driving parameters.

[0019] Preferably, a fault in the motor winding unit is determined in at least one of the following cases:

[0020] (a) An interruption in at least one of the wires of the motor winding unit or the corresponding phase power line of the motor winding unit;

[0021] (b) Current leakage from the motor winding unit to the housing of the motor;

[0022] (c) Short circuit between turns of the motor winding unit.

[0023] Preferably, the control unit is configured to detect a faulty motor winding unit based on at least one of the following, namely one of the above-mentioned faults (a) to (c): the respective actual currents of the motor winding unit or the plurality of motor winding units, and the comparison of the actual voltages of the motor winding unit or the plurality of motor winding units.

[0024] Alternatively, a fault in the motor winding unit may include a short circuit between the wires of two motor winding units, which causes the two motor winding units to fail. Preferably, the control unit is configured to detect the two faulty motor winding units based on the comparison of the actual currents passing through the two faulty motor winding units. Preferably, in the case of such two faulty winding units, the control unit is configured to determine one of the two faulty motor winding units as the faulty motor winding unit, and the corresponding phase power line driving unit will be cut off or operated with adjusted parameters.

[0025] The third aspect of the present invention provides a blood pump system, which includes a blood pump according to the first aspect of the present invention and a motor controller according to the second aspect of the present invention.

[0026] The fourth aspect of the present invention provides a control method for controlling the power supply of the motor winding unit of a blood pump, which is preferably the blood pump according to the first aspect of the present invention. The method includes: (i) detecting a fault in one of the motor winding units; (ii) in the case of detecting a faulty motor winding unit: in the first alternative, cutting off the corresponding phase power line driving unit that drives the faulty motor winding unit, and further operating the motor by controlling the phase power line driving units of the remaining motor windings; in the second alternative, adjusting the driving parameters of the faulty motor winding unit, and further operating the motor by controlling the phase power line driving units of all motor windings.

[0027] Preferably, the step of detecting a fault in one of the motor winding units includes but is not limited to detecting at least one of the following:

[0028] (a) Interruption of the wire of the faulty motor winding unit or the corresponding phase power line of the faulty motor winding unit;

[0029] (b) Current leakage from the faulty motor winding unit to the housing of the motor;

[0030] (c) Short circuit between turns of the faulty motor winding unit; and

[0031] (d) Short circuit between the wires of two motor winding units.

[0032] Preferably, the step of detecting a fault in one of the motor winding units is based on at least one of a comparison of the respective actual currents through the motor winding units, a comparison of the actual voltage drops at the motor winding units, and a comparison of the actual currents through the faulty motor winding unit.

[0033] A fifth aspect of the present invention relates to the application of at least three independent motor winding units in a motor for driving a percutaneously inserted blood pump. Each motor winding unit is arranged and configured to be connected to a power supply via two respective separate phase power lines, which two separate phase power lines are connected to respective ones of two motor winding unit terminals of the respective motor winding unit.

[0034] Finally, with respect to the blood pump of the first aspect of the present invention, the motor controller of the second aspect of the present invention, the blood pump system of the third aspect of the present invention, the control method of the fourth aspect of the present invention, or the application of the fifth aspect of the present invention, in any case, the motor is preferably an integral part of the blood pump. Since the blood pump is configured to be fully percutaneously inserted into a patient's body, when the blood pump is inserted into the patient's body, the motor is also inserted as a component part of the blood pump. Conversely, the motor controller for providing electrical energy and controlling the motor is preferably located outside the patient's body. Only the connection for providing electrical energy and controlling the operation of the motor will enter the patient's body through the skin in the form of an extracorporeal catheter to reach the blood pump and accordingly reach the motor. Description of the Drawings

[0035] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained by way of example with reference to the drawings; wherein,

[0036] Figure 1 An example of a VAD for percutaneous insertion driven by a motor is shown.

[0037] Figure 2 Circuit configurations for three motor winding units are shown, namely (a) a triangular configuration, (b) a star or Y configuration, and (c) a configuration with open terminals.

[0038] Figure 3 Illustrates the principle of driving a motor with three motor winding units in a star configuration by means of modulated control pulses of respective switches between the power supply and the three power lines of the motor winding units.

[0039] Figure 4 A specific embodiment of the new configuration of the motor winding units in the motor for the percutaneously inserted blood pump proposed herein is shown, and the basic configuration of the drive stage of the motor is further illustrated by means of a simplified schematic circuit diagram. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0040] Figure 1 Shows an example of a VAD for percutaneous insertion, which is driven by a motor including a corresponding motor winding unit. The VAD is a microaxial rotary blood pump 50, in particular a catheter-based microaxial rotary blood pump that is percutaneously inserted into a patient's heart through the patient's blood vessels (hereinafter simply referred to as "blood pump 50"). Such a blood pump is already known from, for example, US 5911685A.

[0041] The blood pump 50 is based on the catheter 10, and the blood pump 50 can be temporarily introduced into the ventricle of the patient's heart via the blood vessel by means of the catheter 10. In addition to the catheter 10, the blood pump 50 further includes a pumping device fixed to the end of the catheter conduit 20. The rotary pumping device includes a motor 51 and a pump section 52 located at an axial distance therefrom. The flow cannula 53 is connected to the pump section 52 at one end thereof, extends from the pump section 52 and has an inflow cage 54 located at the other end thereof. The inflow cage 54 is attached with a soft and flexible tip 55. The pump section 52 includes a pump housing having an outlet hole 56. Further, the pumping device includes a drive shaft 57 extending from the motor 51 into the pump housing of the pump section 52. The drive shaft 57 drives an impeller 58 as a thrust element. During operation of the blood pump 50, blood can be sucked in through the inflow cage 54 and discharged through the outlet hole 56 by the rotating impeller 58 driven by the motor 50 via the drive shaft 57.

[0042] The catheter conduit 20 of the catheter 10 passes through three lines, namely two signal lines 28A, 28B and a power line 29 for supplying electrical energy to the motor 51 of the pumping device. The signal lines 28A, 28B and the power line 29 are attached to a control device (not shown) for controlling the pumping device at their proximal ends. The signal lines 28A, 28B are part of a blood pressure sensor, and the blood pressure sensors respectively have corresponding sensor heads 30 and 60. The power line 29 includes separate phase power lines for supplying electrical energy to each motor winding unit of the motor 51 of the motor part. The motor 51 is preferably a synchronous motor. In an exemplary configuration, the motor includes three motor winding units for driving a rotor (not shown) coupled to the drive shaft 57. The rotor may include at least one magnetic field winding. Alternatively, the rotor includes permanent magnets, thus being a permanent magnet excited synchronous motor. In a particular embodiment, a particular motor winding unit includes two parallel windings, which are arranged in different layers and are connected in parallel.

[0043] The blood pump 50 is a micro axial flow rotary blood pump. Here, "micro" indicates that the size is small enough so that the blood pump can be percutaneously inserted into the ventricle of the heart through the blood vessel leading to the ventricle. This also defines the blood pump 50 as an "intravascular" blood pump for percutaneous insertion. "Axial flow" means that the arrangement of the motor 51 for driving the pump part 52 is arranged in an axial configuration. "Rotary" means that the pump function is based on the rotational operation of a thrust element such as an impeller driven by a rotary motor 51.

[0044] Preferably, as Figure 1 shown, the motor 51 is a component of the blood pump 50 configured to be completely percutaneously inserted into the patient's body. Generally, the blood pump 50 is inserted into the patient's body through a blood vessel such as the one leading to the ventricle of the patient's heart. As described above, the blood pump 50 is based on the catheter 10 through which the insertion of the blood pump 50 through the blood vessel can be performed, and the power cord 29 can pass through the catheter 10 to supply electrical energy to the motor 51 and control the motor 51. That is, the motor controller (such as Figure 4 100 in) for supplying electrical energy to the motor and controlling the operation of the motor 51 is located outside the patient's body. Therefore, only the connection part (such as 29) for supplying electrical energy to the motor and controlling the operation of the motor 51 passes through the catheter 10. This is completely different from a blood pump driven by a rotary drive line passing through the catheter so that only the pump part needs to be inserted into the patient's body while the driving motor can be located outside the patient's body. In this case, it is easier to replace a malfunctioning motor.

[0045] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 the respective circuit configurations of the motors 51 of the blood pump 50 in. For example, the motor includes three motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw. In Figure 2 (a), the motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw are connected in a triangular circuit configuration. In Figure 2 (b), the motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw are connected in a star or Y-shaped circuit configuration.

[0046] Figure 2 (c) shows the motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw in a configuration with open terminals, which is generally referred to as an "open-end winding" configuration. The characteristic of the shown configuration is that, in fact, there is no intended circuit interconnection between any one of the tree-shaped motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw and the other two motor winding units. In this configuration, any one of the tree-shaped motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw can be supplied with electrical energy independently of the other motor winding units.

[0047] It should be noted that a specific motor winding unit includes at least one specific motor winding, but is not limited to one winding. The motor winding unit can include more than one motor winding. In particular, the motor winding unit can include more than one motor winding connected in parallel to form the motor winding unit. For example, a motor winding unit can consist of two wirings connected in parallel. Different windings can be arranged in different layers and can be connected in parallel at their respective terminal ends to form the terminals of the motor winding unit.

[0048] Figure 3 The conventional drive of a motor 51-1 is shown, the motor 51-1 having three motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw in the Figure 2 (b) configuration, and the conventional drive is carried out by means of control pulses of the respective switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2, the switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2 being connected to one of two power supply nodes Us, Ug respectively and being connected to only one of the three power supply lines L1, L2, L3 supplying a respective motor winding unit Lu, Lv, Lw.

[0049] The motor 51-1 includes a motor winding configuration used in a micro axial flow rotary blood pump known from US 5911685A. The three motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw are connected together at one of their terminals at a star node SN, while the respective other terminals of each motor winding unit are connected to the respective intermediate nodes MN1, MN2, MN3 of the respective three half-bridges H1, H2, H3 through one of the respective three power supply lines L1, L2, L3. The three half-bridges H1, H2, H3 each include two semiconductor switches, such as power MOSFETs, illustrated as switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2. Each of the three half-bridges H1, H2, H3 defines a respective phase power supply line drive unit controlled by a control unit 1. The three half-bridges H1, H2, H3, i.e., the phase power supply line drive units, can be integrated or implemented by one drive unit DU.

[0050] Each of the half-bridges H1, H2, H3 is controlled by a control unit 1, the control unit 1 being configured to control the respective switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2 by pulse width modulation such that the waveform of the voltage driving a specific motor winding unit Lu, Lv, Lw has a phase difference of 120° with respect to the waveform of the voltage driving any one of the voltages of the other two motor windings.

[0051] The half-bridges H1, H2, and H3 are respectively connected to the control unit 1, which also provides a power supply voltage Us and a reference voltage Ug such as ground. The respective control of the switches in one of the half-bridges H1, H2, H3 is shown in Figure 3 by corresponding arrows from the control unit 1 to the respective switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2. By switching the respective half-bridges H1, H2, H3, the respective currents supplied to the corresponding motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw are switched, resulting in corresponding changes in the magnetic fields generated by the specific motor winding units. Thus, the motor winding units generate a rotating magnetic field for moving the rotor (not shown) of the motor 51-1. The rotor containing the excitation magnetic field winding is accordingly forced to rotate.

[0052] The respective control of the switches Su1 and Su2, Sv1 and Sv2, Sw1 and Sw2 in the half-bridges H1, H2, H3 (phase power line drive units) allows control of the rotation direction and rotation speed of the motor 51-1, as well as the torque generated by the motor 51-1. For example, in Figure 1 the known blood pump 50 shown, a synchronous motor 51 having three motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw operates in a star configuration. Then, Figure 1 the power line 29 passing through the catheter conduit 20 shown in

[0053] Figure 4 shows a specific embodiment of the new configuration of the motor winding units in the motor 51-2 of the percutaneous blood pump proposed herein, as shown in Figure 1 Further, Figure 4 the basic configuration of the drive stage of the motor 51-2 is shown by a simplified, schematic circuit diagram.

[0054] As previously described and as shown in Figure 1 the motor 51-2 is an integral part of the blood pump 50. Thus, together with the blood pump 50, the motor 51-2 is also fully inserted percutaneously into the patient's body. Also as described above, the blood pump 50 is based on the catheter 10 through which the insertion of the blood pump 50 through the blood vessel is performed, and the power line 29 can be guided through the catheter 10 to supply electrical energy to the motor 51-2 and control the motor 51-2. The power line 29 includes six separate phase power lines Lw1, Lv1, and Lu1, Lw2, Lv2, and Lu2 (to be discussed in more detail below). The motor controller 100, which supplies electrical energy to the motor 51-2 and controls the motor 51-2, etc., will be located outside the patient's body. In other words, the connection for supplying electrical energy to the motor and controlling the operation of the motor 51-2 passes through the catheter 10.

[0055] The electric machine 51-2 includes three motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw. It should be noted that more than three motor winding units can also be used. Each motor winding unit Lu, Lv, Lw is connected to a separate and isolated phase power supply line Lw1, Lv1 and Lu1, Lw2, Lv2 and LU2 at two respective motor winding unit terminals LwE1 and LwE2, LvE1 and LvE2, and LuE1 and LuE2. Each of the two phase power supply lines of a particular motor winding unit Lu, Lv, Lw is connected to a corresponding half-bridge circuit DH1, DH2, DH3, DL1, DL2, DL3. As Figure 3 described in the connection of, each half-bridge circuit DH1, DH2, DH3, DL1, DL2, DL3 includes two corresponding semiconductor switches SwH1 and SwH2, SvH1 and SvH2, SuH1 and SuH2, SwL1 and SwL2, SvL1 and SvL2, SuL1 and SuL2.

[0056] For example, for the motor winding unit Lw, the first winding unit terminal LwE1 is connected to the intermediate node MNH1 of the half-bridge circuit DH1 via the first phase power supply line Lw1, while the second winding terminal LwE2 is connected to the intermediate node MNL1 of the corresponding second half-bridge circuit DL1 via the second phase power supply line Lw2. Each of the two half-bridge circuits DH1, DL1 includes two respective semiconductor switches SwH1 and SwH2, SwL1 and SwL2. The two half-bridge circuits DH1, DL1 together define a phase power supply line drive unit for the motor winding unit Lw. This applies correspondingly to the other half-bridges and motor winding units.

[0057] Compared with Figure 3 the configuration shown in, Figure 4 the electric machine 51-2 in is driven and controlled by a motor controller 100 that in principle includes two drive units DU1, DU2. Each of the two drive units DU1, DU2 is respectively connected to the respective first winding unit terminals of the motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw. In a specific implementation, for example, the drive units DU1, DU2 can be implemented by an integrated circuit (IC) such as the DRV8312 three-phase pulse width modulation drive unit from Texas Instruments.

[0058] To measure the actual currents Iv, Iu, Iw passing through a particular motor winding unit Lw, Lv, Lu, the drive units DU1, DU2 are connected to respective current measurement units IM1, IM2, IM3 that are in principle connected in series with the corresponding motor winding units Lw, Lv, Lu. For example, the actual current passing through a particular motor winding unit Lw, Lv, Lu can be determined as corresponding to the voltage drop across a current sensing element such as a shunt resistor. InFigure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the current measurement units IM1, IM2, IM3 are implemented by respective shunt resistors Rw, Rv, Ru.

[0059] In a corresponding manner, the motor controller 100 includes a measurement unit ITM for the total current through all the motor winding units Lw, Lv, Lu. The measurement unit ITM for the total current includes a current sensing element and is connected in series with the common node of all the phase power lines, which are in principle connected in parallel with each other – as the motor winding units themselves. The current sensing unit ITM for the total current is implemented by a shunt resistor Rtotal, the voltage drop of which can be measured and is proportional to the total current Itotal.

[0060] Furthermore, the control unit 120 includes sensing inputs for receiving the measured values of the actual currents Iv, Iu, Iw of each individual motor winding unit Lw, Lv, Lu and the total current Itotal through all the motor winding units Lw, Lv, Lu. Furthermore, the control unit 120 is operatively connected to the power supply unit 110 to receive the actual voltages provided via the drive units DU1, DU2.

[0061] Furthermore, when the respective motor winding unit is not currently being driven, i.e., when any one of the switches in the corresponding half-bridge is open, corresponding voltage measurements are also performed at the respective intermediate nodes MNH1, MNH2, and MNH3 in the drive unit DU1 and / or at MNL1, MNK2, MNL3 in the drive unit DU2 to measure the induced counter electromotive force, CEMF, voltage at each motor winding unit.

[0062] Furthermore, output control lines extend from the control unit 120 to the semiconductor switches of the respective half-bridges DH1, DH2, DH3, DL1, DL2, DL3 to control them.

[0063] It is noted that the current sensing lines and the control lines are only schematically shown in Figure 4 to keep the figure simple; for example, the arrow from the current measurement unit IM1 with the shunt resistor Rw to the control unit 120 indicates that the measured value of the actual current Iw in the motor winding Lw is input to the control unit 120. Similarly, the arrow from the control unit 120 to the semiconductor switch SwL2 of the half-bridge DL1 in the drive unit DU2 shows that the operation of the switch SwL2 is controlled by the control unit 120, and the same applies to the other switches.

[0064] In principle, the control of the rotational direction, rotational speed, and generated motor torque of the motor 51-2 is similar to Figure 3 the configuration shown in

[0065] First, the control unit 120 is configured to detect a fault in any one of the motor winding units Lu, Lv, Lw. Based on the detected faulty motor winding unit, the control unit 120 is configured to cut off the corresponding half-bridges DH1, DH2, DH3, DL1, DL2, DL3 connected to the faulty motor winding unit once a fault is detected in the specific motor winding unit. Due to the individual control of each motor winding unit Lu, Lv, Lw, the motor 51-2 can be further controlled and operated, which can be further controlled and operated only by the remaining motor winding units, especially by controlling the corresponding remaining half-bridges, or further controlled and operated by all the motor winding units, in which case the drive parameters of the faulty motor winding unit are adjusted.

[0066] Advantageously, a faulty motor winding unit may be defined by detecting at least one of the following circuit faults.

[0067] For example, there may be an interruption in a conductor of a motor winding unit or in a corresponding phase supply line of a motor winding unit, which corresponds to a fault in the particular motor winding unit.

[0068] For example, due to an insulation failure in one of the motor winding units, there may be current leakage between the motor winding and the housing of the motor 51 - 2 .

[0069] For example, a short circuit may exist between turns of a particular motor winding unit, causing the inductance of the corresponding motor winding unit to decrease, also defining a faulty motor winding unit.

[0070] In all of these aforementioned fault situations, the control unit 120 is configured to detect the respective faulty motor winding unit based on a comparison of the respectively measured actual currents through the motor winding units and / or actual voltage drops at the motor winding units.

[0071] And, for example, a fault in a motor winding unit can be defined by a short circuit between the wires of two motor winding units. The control unit 120 is also configured to detect such two faulty motor winding units, for example based on a comparison of the actual currents passing through the motor winding units. In such a fault situation, the control unit 120 is configured to determine one of the two faulty motor winding units as a faulty motor winding unit, because of which the corresponding half-bridges DH1 and DL1, DH2 and DL2, or DH3 and DL3 will be cut off, and / or because of which the corresponding half-bridges will be operated with adjusted parameters. Therefore, as described above, the motor 51-2 can be further operated by the remaining motor units.

[0072] In the case where a blood pump is used for subcutaneous insertion into the ventricle of the heart, the fault-tolerant configuration and operation of the motor winding unit of the motor driving the blood pump described herein reduce the risk to the patient of the complete detachment of the blood pump. Further, the risk associated with removing the blood pump from the patient to reposition a new blood pump is also reduced.

[0073] Finally, the present disclosure presents a novel blood pump for percutaneous insertion and / or intravascular applications, the blood pump including a motor for driving the blood pump, the motor including at least three motor winding units, wherein each motor winding unit is individually connected to a power supply via two separate phase power lines connected to respective motor winding unit terminals.

[0074] Further, the present disclosure presents a motor controller for driving and controlling the motor of a blood pump, wherein the motor controller includes respective phase power line driving units for each motor winding unit of the motor of the blood pump, wherein the phase power line driving units are connected to the respective motor winding units via respective two phase power lines.

[0075] And, the present disclosure presents a corresponding blood pump system including a blood pump and a motor controller.

[0076] And, the present disclosure presents a corresponding control method for controlling the power supply of the motor winding units of a blood pump, wherein the method includes: detecting a fault in one of the motor winding units, and in the case of detecting a faulty motor winding unit, cutting off the corresponding phase power line driving unit of the faulty motor winding unit, and further operating the motor by controlling the phase power line driving units of the remaining motor windings, or alternatively further operating all the motor winding units in which the driving parameters of the faulty motor winding unit are adjusted driving parameters.

[0077] Finally, the present disclosure presents an application of at least three independent motor windings in a motor for driving a blood pump for percutaneous insertion and / or intravascular applications, the motor windings being individually connected to respective power supplies via respective two separate phase power lines, the two separate phase power lines being connected to respective motor winding terminals of one of the at least three motor windings.

Claims

1. A motor controller (100) for driving and controlling a motor (51; 51-2) of a blood pump (50) for percutaneous insertion, the blood pump (50) including a motor (51) for driving the blood pump (50), the motor (51; 51-2) including at least three motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), wherein each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw) is arranged and configured to be connected via respective motor winding unit terminals (LuE1, LuE2; The separated phase power lines (Lu1, Lu2; Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2) of (LvE1, LvE2; LwE1, LwE2) are separately connected to the power supply (110), Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2) are separately connected to the power supply (110), The motor controller (100) includes: Corresponding phase power line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) for each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw), the phase power line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) are respectively connectable to one of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw) through corresponding phase power lines (Lu1, Lu2; Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2), and A control unit (120), the control unit (120) is configured to control the phase power line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) to operate the motor (51; 51-2), Wherein, in the case where a fault in the motor winding unit is defined by a short circuit between the wires of two of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), the control unit (120) is configured to; Detect the two faulty motor winding units based on a comparison of the actual currents (Iu, Iv, Iw) passing through the two faulty motor winding units; and Determine one of the two faulty motor winding units as the faulty motor winding unit, and the corresponding phase power line driving unit (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) will be cut off.

2. The motor controller (100) according to claim 1, Among them, Each of the phase power line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) is implemented by two corresponding half-bridge units, and the two half-bridge units are configured to be switchable to jointly control the power supplied to the corresponding motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw).

3. The motor controller (100) according to claim 1, further includes at least one of the following: Respective phase current measuring units (Ru, Rv, Rw), the respective phase current measuring units (Ru, Rv, Rw) are used to measure the actual values of the currents (Iu, Iv, Iw) passing through the corresponding motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw); A total current measuring unit (Rtotal), the total current measuring unit (Rtotal) is used to measure the actual value of the total current (Itotal) passing through all motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw); and Respective measuring units, the respective measuring units are configured to measure the respective induced back electromotive forces, back electromotive forces of the undriven motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw).

4. The motor controller (100) according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit (120) is configured to control the phase power line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) to operate the motor (51; 51-2) so as to drive and control at least one of the rotational speed of the motor (51; 51-2), the rotational direction of the motor (51), and the torque generated by the motor (51; 51-2).

5. The motor controller (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The motor (51; 51-2) is an integral part of the blood pump (50), and the blood pump (50) is configured to be completely percutaneously inserted into a patient's body. So when the blood pump (50) is inserted, the motor controller (100) for supplying electrical energy to the motor (51; 51-2) and controlling the motor (51; 51-2) is located outside the patient's body, and the connection part for supplying electrical energy to the motor (51; 51-2) and controlling the operation of the motor (51; 51-2) will pass through the catheter (10) to the blood pump (50).

6. A blood pump system, comprising the motor controller (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and a blood pump (50) for percutaneous insertion. The blood pump (50) includes a motor (51) for driving the blood pump (50). The motor (51; 51-2) includes at least three motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), wherein each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw) is arranged and configured to be separately connected to a power supply (110) via separate phase power lines (Lu1, Lu2; Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2) connected to respective motor winding unit terminals (LuE1, LuE2; LvE1, LvE2; LwE1, LwE2).

7. The blood pump system according to claim 6, Among them, The motor (51; 51-2) is a permanent magnet excited synchronous motor.

8. The blood pump system according to claim 6, Among them, The motor (51; 51-2) includes three motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), and each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw) is connected to a corresponding phase power line (Lu1, Lu2; Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2).

9. The blood pump system according to any one of claims 6-8, Among them, The motor (51; 51-2) is an integral part of the blood pump (50), and the blood pump (50) is configured to be completely percutaneously inserted into a patient's body. So when the blood pump (50) is inserted, the motor controller (100) for supplying electrical energy to the motor (51; 51-2) and controlling the motor (51; 51-2) is located outside the patient's body, and the connection part for supplying electrical energy to the motor (51; 51-2) and controlling the operation of the motor (51; 51-2) will pass through the catheter (10) to the blood pump (50).

10. A control method for controlling the power supply of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw) of a blood pump (50) for percutaneous insertion, the control method being implemented by a motor controller (100) that drives and controls the blood pump (50). The blood pump (50) includes a motor (51) for driving the blood pump (50), and the motor (51; 51-2) includes at least three motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), wherein each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw) is arranged and configured to be connected to respective motor winding unit terminals (LuE1, LuE2; The separate phase power supply lines (Lu1, Lu2; LvE1, LvE2; LwE1, LwE2) are individually connected to a power supply (110), Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2) are individually connected to a power supply (110), The motor controller (100) includes: Respective phase power supply line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) for each motor winding unit (Lu, Lv, Lw), the phase power supply line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) being respectively connectable via respective phase power supply lines (Lu1, Lu2; Lv1, Lv2; Lw1, Lw2) to one of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), and A control unit (120) configured to control the phase power supply line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) to operate the motor (51; 51-2), Characterized in that the method includes: (i) Detecting a fault in one of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), wherein a fault in the motor winding unit is defined by a short circuit between the wires of two of the motor winding units (Lu, Lv, Lw), and detecting the two faulty motor winding units based on a comparison of the actual currents (Iu, Iv, Iw) through the two faulty motor winding units; (ii) Determining one of the two faulty motor winding units as the faulty motor winding unit; and (iii) Cutting off the respective phase power supply line driving unit (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) of the faulty motor winding unit and further operating the motor (51; 51-2) by controlling the respective phase power supply line driving units (DH1, DH2, DH3; DL1, DL2, DL3) of the remaining motor winding units.

11. The control method according to claim 10, wherein, The motor (51; 51-2) is an integral part of the blood pump (50), the blood pump (50) being configured to be fully percutaneously inserted into a patient such that when the blood pump (50) is inserted, the motor controller (100) for supplying electrical energy to and controlling the motor (51; 51-2) is located outside the patient, and a connection for supplying electrical energy to and controlling the operation of the motor (51; 51-2) will pass through a catheter (10) to the blood pump (50).

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