Low-Flow Centrifugal Blood Pump for Left Heart Unloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are ineffective, leading to high mortality rates, and existing blood pumps for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) pose risks of thrombosis and hemolysis due to high rotational speeds and flow rates.
Innovation Solution
A blood pump system that unloads pressure in the left atrium and ventricle by diverting blood to an artery, reducing pulmonary capillary pressure through a low, continuous flow rate, bypassing the aortic and mitral valves, and using a smaller, less powerful centrifugal pump to minimize thromboembolic events and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high rotational speed axial pumps are used to deliver flow rates, then flow rate is improved, but thrombosis and hemolysis risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces high-speed mechanical axial pumping with a low-speed centrifugal pumping system. The centrifugal pump operates at significantly lower rotational speeds (2000-5000 rpm versus 17000-32000 rpm) while achieving the same therapeutic flow rates through a different mechanical action mechanism, thereby reducing blood trauma and preventing thrombosis and hemolysis
Solution Approach 2:
The patent fundamentally changes the operating parameters of the blood pump system by reducing rotational speed from tens of thousands of rpm to a few thousand rpm. This parameter change transforms the pumping mechanism from high-speed axial flow to low-speed centrifugal flow, maintaining therapeutic effectiveness while eliminating the harmful effects of high-speed operation on blood cells
2Object-affected harmful factors
If centrifugal pumps are used to reduce thrombosis and hemolysis, then thrombosis and hemolysis risks are reduced, but pump size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces pump size by changing the operational parameters - specifically by operating the centrifugal pump at lower rotational speeds (2000-5000 rpm) compared to conventional high-speed pumps. This parameter change allows for a more compact design while maintaining the same flow rate capability and reducing the harmful effects of high-speed operation
3Productivity
If high flow rate pumps are used to assist the heart, then cardiac output is improved, but pump size and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes high-power mechanical pumping systems with a low-power centrifugal pumping system that operates at reduced speeds. The centrifugal mechanism achieves the required cardiac output assistance (0.3-2.5 L/min) with significantly lower power requirements, enabling a compact, implantable device design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the power and flow parameters by operating at lower rotational speeds (2000-5000 rpm) to achieve the same therapeutic flow rates. This parameter transformation reduces the power requirements and pump size while maintaining effective cardiac output assistance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces atriopulmonary pressure, minimizing thromboembolic risks and energy consumption, allowing for a smaller, more portable implantable device suitable for HFpEF patients, with adjustable flow rates to match patient needs.
Implementation Method 1
a rotor configured to rotate at a continuous speed between 2000 and 5000 revolutions per minute
Data Source
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AI summary
An aspect of the invention relates to an unloading blood pump (40, 40') comprising a casing (400) suitable for being incorporated into a human body (6), - - a turbine rotated by a rotor, 5 - - a pumping chamber body (402) mounted in a casing (400) housing the turbine, - - an inlet port (401) for sucking the blood from a suction cannula (41) to the pumping chamber body (402) and an outlet port (403) for expelling blood from the pumping chamber (402) to a reinjection cannula (43), - and in that the pump (40, 40') is configured, depending on its power supply, to allow a nominal constant continuous flow of between 0.05 L/min and 0.5 L/min in order to reduce a capillary pressure of the lungs and/or of the left atrium and/or of the left ventricle.