Expandable Medical Fluid Pump for Small-Vessel Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid pumps for medical applications face limitations in diameter expansion due to the need to accommodate a drive shaft and rotor within small blood vessels, restricting their performance and operation.
Innovation Solution
A fluid pump design with a diameter-changing pump housing and rotor, utilizing an actuation means like a pull means or drive shaft, allowing displacement in the longitudinal direction to overlap or be arranged behind one another, enabling efficient compression and expansion without wall contact, and incorporating a bearing arrangement for smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the pump housing and rotor are designed to be accommodated within a small diameter for introduction through blood vessels, then the device can be introduced through restricted spaces, but the diameter expansion ability is limited and performance is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing and rotor are designed as dynamic structures that can change their diameter. The pump housing includes expandable elements that allow it to transition from a compressed low-diameter state for introduction through blood vessels to an expanded high-diameter state for optimal pump performance. Similarly, the rotor is designed with flexible or segmented components that can adapt to the changing housing diameter, maintaining functional clearance and operational efficiency throughout the transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor is nested within the pump housing in a configuration that allows for compact storage during introduction and efficient operation during use. The bearing arrangement is positioned to accommodate both the compressed and expanded states, with the rotor able to rotate freely when the housing is expanded while remaining tightly fitted during the compressed introduction phase.
2Length of moving object
If the pump housing and rotor are compressed to a smaller diameter for introduction, then the device can be deployed through blood vessels, but the overlapping in the longitudinal direction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention resolves the longitudinal overlap issue by transitioning the compression problem into the radial dimension. Instead of reducing longitudinal overlap through complex axial mechanisms, the pump housing and rotor are designed to compress radially while maintaining their longitudinal positions. The bearing arrangement is specifically designed to accommodate this radial compression without requiring significant longitudinal displacement, thus solving the contradiction by operating in a different dimensional space.
3Adaptability or versatility
If special mechanisms are used to actuate the spanning mechanism by catheter, then the pump can be expanded after introduction, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump housing incorporates self-expanding elements that automatically transition from the compressed to expanded state upon introduction into the target location. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex external actuation systems, reducing device complexity while maintaining expandability. The structural design itself provides the expansion capability through inherent mechanical properties rather than requiring separate actuation mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes changes in physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, or material phase transitions to drive the expansion of the pump housing and rotor. By changing the state or properties of the materials used in the housing and rotor construction, the system achieves expansion without complex mechanical actuation, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining the desired adaptability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If memory materials are used to change shape with temperature, then the pump can be expanded to desired shape, but the control precision and reliability are affected by temperature changes in the body
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces temperature-dependent shape memory materials with mechanically-driven expansion mechanisms. Instead of relying on thermal energy to trigger shape changes, the system uses direct mechanical actuation through the bearing arrangement and housing design. This substitution eliminates the reliability issues associated with temperature control in the body while maintaining the desired shape changeability through purely mechanical means.
5Device complexity
If flexible rotor blades are used that are automatically set up on pump operation, then the complexity is reduced, but the torque transmission and mechanical stress are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor blades are constructed using flexible shell structures that can bend and deform to achieve the desired blade configuration. These flexible shell blades distribute mechanical stresses more evenly throughout their structure compared to rigid blades, reducing peak stress concentrations. The flexible nature allows automatic setup upon pump operation while maintaining structural integrity and reducing overall mechanical stress through the inherent flexibility and stress-distributing properties of the shell construction.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a fluid pump device, in particular for the medical application, with a compressible pump housing and rotor, as well as with an actuation means which runs in the sleeve and on whose end the fluid pump is arranged. In order to utilize all possibilities of a space-saving arrangement of the respective pump housing of the rotor, which is compressible per se, and as the case may be, a bearing arrangement, the mentioned elements are displaceable to one another in the axial direction compared to an operation position. In particular these elements may be end-configured by way of an axial movement of the drive shaft after the assembly.