Centrifugal blood pumps are considered to be generally superior to the
traditionally used roller pumps in cardiopulmonary bypass. In our ins
titute a new lightweight centrifugal sealless blood pump with a unique
spherical thrust bearing and with a magnetic coupling was developed,
the HiFlow. The small design makes the pump suitable for applications
in complex devices or close to a patient. Hemolysis tests were carried
out in which the BioMedicus pump BP-80 and a roller pump were used as
reference. The centrifugal pump HiFlow showed the least blood trauma
within the group of investigated pumps. In summary, the HiFlow pump co
ncept with its low priming volume and limited contact surfaces shows g
reat potential for clinical applications in cardiopulmonary bypass. Al
so, the possibility of using the pump as a short-term assist device wi
th an option of a pulsatile driving mode was demonstrated.