Intravascular Blood Pump Outflow Hose for Valve Port Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fixed-diameter intravascular blood pumps are sensitive to longitudinal shifts, which can cause both intake and output ports to be displaced to the same side of a heart valve, leading to efficiency loss and hemolysis, and lengthening the intake cannula to mitigate this issue increases hydraulic loss and complexity.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an outflow hose that longitudinally separates the discharge port from the pump output port, maintaining the intake and output ports on opposite sides of the heart valve without extending the intake cannula, and optionally using a radially collapsible or expandable design to facilitate insertion and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the intake cannula is lengthened to increase spacing between intake and output ports, then the tolerance to longitudinal shifts is improved, but the hydraulic loss increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an outflow hose that extends in the longitudinal dimension beyond the pump housing, creating additional spacing between the intake port and discharge port without requiring an extended intake cannula. This dimensional extension on the outflow side resolves the contradiction by achieving port separation without the hydraulic penalties of a longer intake path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the functions of intake and outflow pathways by introducing a distinct outflow hose component that is independent of the intake cannula. This segmentation allows the discharge port to be positioned longitudinally farther from the intake port without increasing intake cannula length, thereby maintaining low hydraulic loss while improving tolerance to longitudinal shifts.
2Reliability
If the intake cannula is lengthened to increase spacing between intake and output ports, then the tolerance to longitudinal shifts is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the outflow function into a separate hose component that extends from the pump housing, rather than integrating it into the intake cannula or pump housing. This segmentation achieves the desired longitudinal separation with a simple, modular addition that does not significantly increase overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The outflow hose is implemented as a flexible tubular component that can be easily integrated into the existing pump structure. This flexible shell approach provides the necessary longitudinal extension without requiring complex rigid structures, thereby minimizing increases in device complexity while achieving improved tolerance to longitudinal shifts.
3Device complexity
If a fixed-diameter pump design is used, then the device simplicity is maintained, but the tolerance to longitudinal shifts is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains the simplicity of a fixed-diameter pump housing while extending the outflow hose in the longitudinal dimension to achieve greater spacing between ports. This dimensional extension allows the simple fixed-diameter design to tolerate longitudinal shifts better without requiring complex expandable mechanisms.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3b
Figure 4
AI summary
An intravascular blood pump (200) includes a pump housing (211) having an input port (214) and an output port (216). A relatively short intake cannula (226) may draw blood in through an intake port (230) and deliver the blood to the input port (214) of the pump housing (211). The intake cannula (226) is relatively short, to prevent excess hydraulic loss. An outflow hose (234) is connected to the output port (216) of the pump housing (211), so as to convey blood exiting the output port (216) through the outflow hose (234) in a downstream direction to a discharge port (238), e.g. into an aorta or other blood vessel (205). Despite the short intake cannula (226), the outflow hose (234) longitudinally separates the intake port (230) from the discharge port (238) sufficiently so the intake port (230) and the discharge port (238) remain on opposite sides of a heart valve, despite inadvertent longitudinal shifts of the intravascular heart pump (200).