Open Electric Pump for Blood Flow Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heart pumps with closed designs cause significant resistance to blood flow and heat transfer issues when stopped, leading to circulatory collapse and thromboembolic complications when implanted in series with the heart.
Innovation Solution
An open electric pump design with a larger rotor and electromagnetic coils that allows for efficient blood flow and reduced heat transfer, featuring a frame with a central axle and electromagnetic coils that rotate based on hall sensors or back electromagnetic pulse sensing, made from biocompatible materials with minimal casing to reduce resistance and trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional closed pump design is used, then the pump can effectively pump blood, but it causes severe resistance to blood flow if the pump stops pumping
Solution Approach 1:
The pump design segments the casing into separate sections with gaps between them, creating an open architecture that allows blood to bypass the rotor when the pump is stopped. This segmentation maintains pumping efficiency when operating while enabling free flow when stopped, resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
2Device complexity
If a conventional closed pump design is used, then the pump structure is compact, but it causes heat transfer to surrounding tissue and blood
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the enclosing casing that causes heat transfer problems in conventional pumps. By taking out the closed casing structure and replacing it with an open framework design, the pump maintains its compact form factor while eliminating the harmful heat transfer to surrounding blood and tissue.
3Productivity
If a conventional pump with small tolerances between rotor and casing is used, then the pump achieves efficient blood pumping, but it causes catastrophic circulatory collapse if the pump stops
Solution Approach 1:
The casing is segmented into separate sections with intentional gaps between them, allowing blood to flow through the pump structure when the pump is stopped. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining efficient pumping when operating while preventing circulatory collapse when stopped.
4Reliability
If an open pump design is used, then resistance to blood flow is reduced when pump stops, but the pump structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pump employs a minimalist framework structure with thin structural elements rather than a solid casing. This approach achieves the open design needed for free blood flow during stoppage while minimizing structural complexity through the use of slender, efficient support elements.
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 open pump design minimizes resistance to blood flow and heat transfer, reducing the risk of circulatory collapse and thromboembolic complications, while allowing for efficient blood pumping and heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
at least two electromagnetic coils configured to be energized in order to cause the rotor to rotate
Implementation Method 2
Conventional pumps also include coils that generate heat, which is transferred to the surrounding tissue and blood by the casing
Data Source
AI summary
An implantable pump is configured to be implanted in series with blood flow from a heart. The pump includes a frame configured to be implanted within the natural blood flow of the heart such as a ventricular outflow tract an outlet valve of the heart, and a central axle configured to be affixed within the frame parallel to the blood flow. The pump also includes a rotor attached to the central axle and configured to rotate in order to pump blood, and at least two electromagnetic coils configured to be energized in order to cause the rotor to rotate.