HYDRAULIC REFINEMENT OF AN INTRAARTERIAL MICROAXIAL BLOOD PUMP

Intravascularly operating microaxial pumps have been introduced clinic ally proving to be useful tools for cardiac assist (1-4). However, a n umber of complications have been reported in literature associated wit h the extra-corporeal motor and the flexible drive shaft cable (5,6). In this paper, a new pump concept is presented which has been mechanic ally and hydraulically refined during the developing process. The driv e shaft cable has been replaced by a proximally integrated micro elect ric motor and an extra-corporeal power supply (7). The conduit between pump and power supply consists of only an electrical power cable with in the catheter resulting in a device which is indifferent to kinking and small curvature radii. Anticipated insertion difficulties as a res ult of a large outer pump diameter, led to a two-step approach with an initial 6,4mm pump version and a secondary 5,4mm version. Both pumps meet the hydraulic requirement of at least 2.51/min at a differential pressure of 80-100mmHg. The hydraulic refinements necessary to achieve the anticipated goal are based on ongoing hydrodynamic studies of the flow inside the pumps. Flow visualization on a 10:1 scale model as we ll as on 1:1 scale pumps have yielded significant improvements in the overall hydraulic performance of the pumps. One example of this iterat ive developing process by means of geometrical changes on the basis of flow visualization is illustrated for the 6.4mm pump.