Centrifugal Blood Pump with a Hydraulically-levitated Impeller for a Permanently Implantable Biventricular Assist Device

• Published in: Artificial organs 2004-06, Vol.28 (6), p.556-563
• Main Authors: Watanabe, Kuniyoshi, Ichikawa, Seiji, Asai, Toshimasa, Motomura, Tadashi, Hata, Atsushi, Ito, Seiichi, Shinohara, Toshiyuki, Tsujimura, Shinichi, Glueck, Julia A., Oestmann, Daniel J., Nosé, Yukihiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biomedical Engineering; Biventricular assist device and rotary blood pump; Cattle; Equipment Design; Equipment Safety; Gyro permanently implantable centrifugal blood pump; Heart-Assist Devices; Hemodynamics - physiology; Hydraulically-levitated impeller; Implants, Experimental; Materials Testing; Models, Animal; Pulsatile Flow; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0160-564X; 1525-1594
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1594.2004.07311.x

:  A permanently implantable biventricular assist device (BVAD) system has been developed with a centrifugal pump which is activated by a hydraulically‐levitated impeller. The pump impeller floats hydraulically into the top contact position; this position prevents thrombus formation by creating a washout effect at the bottom bearing area, a common stagnant region. The pump was subjected to in vitro studies using a pulsatile mock circulation loop to confirm the impeller's top contact position and the swinging motion produced by the pulsation. Eleven in vivo BVAD studies confirmed that this swinging motion eliminated blood clot formation. Twenty‐one pumps im‐planted for up to three months did not reveal any thrombosis in the pumps or downstream organs. One exception was a right pump which was exposed to severe low flow due to the kinking of the outflow graft by the accidental pulling of the flow meter cable. Three ninety‐day BVAD studies were achieved without thrombus formation.