Pump and method for mixed flow blood pumping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10724534-B2
Application number	US-201514952296-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 25, 2015
Priority date	Nov 26, 2014
Publication date	Jul 28, 2020
Grant date	Jul 28, 2020

Abstract

A blood pump includes a housing and a rotor within the housing configured to rotate along an axis. The rotor may include a hub, the hub having regions with blades and regions without blades. The regions without blades may have a constant outer diameter and may extend along at least one fourth the length of the hub. The regions with blades may have an increasing outer diameter. Blades may be disposed on a downstream end region of the hub and extend downstream of the hub. Blades may begin approximately halfway along the axial length of a motor stator located about a hub and extend downstream of the motor stator. Blades may have portions that produce axial fluid flow and radial fluid flow with improved flow characteristics.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A blood pump comprising:
a housing; and
a rotor within the housing configured to rotate along an axis, the rotor including a hub and blades that project substantially radially outward from the hub,
wherein the hub has a hub axial length along the axis, a hub upstream tapered end region, a hub first region, a hub blade region, and a hub downstream tapered end region,
wherein the hub first region is located downstream of the hub upstream tapered end region,
wherein the hub first region has a constant outer diameter,
wherein the hub blade region is located downstream of the hub first region,
wherein the blades project substantially radially outward from the hub blade region,
wherein the hub blade region has a hub blade region outer diameter that increases in a downstream direction,
wherein the hub downstream tapered end region is located downstream of the hub blade region,
wherein each of the blades has a blade angle, relative to the axis, that decreases along a length of the blade from a maximum blade angle at a leading edge of the blade angle to a minimum blade angle at a trailing edge of the blade,
wherein the maximum blade angle is between 50 to 90 degrees, and
wherein the minimum blade angle is between 15 to 40 degrees.

2. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein each of the blades extends along the axis between one third and two thirds of the hub axial length.

3. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the hub blade region outer diameter increases with a linear taper.

4. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the hub blade region outer diameter increases over the entire blade region.

5. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein each of the blades wraps around approximately 170 degrees of the hub about the axis.

6. The blood pump of claim 1 , further comprising a motor stator having a motor stator upstream region and a motor stator downstream region, wherein the motor stator upstream region extends around the hub first region and the motor stator downstream region extends around the hub blade region.

7. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the rotor includes a downstream bearing component and the housing defines an annular volume located about the downstream bearing component, and the axis is located at an offset from a center of the annular volume.

8. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the hub downstream tapered end region defines one or more dimples configured to generate additional flow components.

9. The blood pump of claim 8 , wherein the one or more dimples are configured to aid in washing a surface of the blood pump or a surface of a bearing component of the blood pump.

10. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the hub downstream tapered end region comprises a concave outer surface that defines a recess in the hub that extends upstream along the axis of rotation.

11. The blood pump of claim 10 , wherein the recess causes flow separation that aids in washing a surface of the blood pump or a surface of a bearing component of the blood pump.

12. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the outer diameter of the hub blade region begins to increase at a proximal edge of the blades.

13. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a downstream inner wall segment that increases in diameter in the downstream direction and surrounds the downstream portion of the blade region of the hub.

14. The blood pump of claim 13 , wherein the blades have an equal clearance to the inner wall segment throughout the downstream portion of the blade region of the hub.

15. The blood pump of claim 1 , not comprising any stator blades downstream of the rotor.

16. The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises an upstream inner wall segment and a downstream inner wall segment, the upstream inner wall segment having a constant inner diameter, the downstream inner wall segment having an inner diameter that increases in the downstream direction, each of the upstream inner wall segment and the downstream inner wall segment surrounding a respective portion of the blade region of the hub.

17. The blood pump of claim 16 , wherein the blades have an equal clearance to the housing throughout the blade region of the hub.

18. A blood pump comprising:
a motor stator;
a rotor comprising a hub and blades that projects substantially radially outward from the hub; and
a housing defining an inlet, an outlet, and a flow path from the inlet to the outlet,
wherein the rotor is surrounded by the motor stator,
wherein the hub has a hub axial length along an axis,
wherein the hub comprises magnetic material,
wherein the hub has an axis of rotation and a generally axisymmetric shape,
wherein the hub has an upstream tapered end region, a hub first region, a hub blade region, and a hub downstream tapered end region,
wherein the hub first region is located downstream of the hub upstream tapered end region,
wherein the hub first region has a constant outer diameter,
wherein the hub blade region is located downstream of the hub first region,
wherein the blades project substantially radially outward from the hub blade region;
wherein the hub blade region has a hub blade region outer diameter that increases in a downstream direction,
wherein the hub downstream tapered end region is located downstream of the hub blade region,
wherein each of the blades has a blade angle, relative to the axis, that decreases along a length of the blade from a maximum blade angle at a leading edge of the blade angle to a minimum blade angle at a trailing edge of the blade,
wherein the maximum blade angle is between 50 to 90 degrees,
wherein the minimum blade angle is between 15 to 40 degrees, and
wherein each blade includes:
an upstream portion that adds energy to fluid having forward flow primarily in the direction along the axis of the hub; and
a downstream portion that adds energy to fluid having forward flow containing a radial or centrifugal flow component, the downstream portion of the blade being disposed on the downstream portion of the blade region of the hub.

19. The blood pump of claim 18 , wherein the outlet is oriented off the axis of rotation of the hub.

20. The blood pump of claim 18 , further comprising exactly one stator in the flow path, the stator being located upstream from the rotor.

21. The blood pump of claim 18 , further comprising an annular volume disposed around the axis of rotation, the annular volume being located downstream from the blades along the axis of rotation and the annular volume being in fluid communication with the outlet, the annular volume having a shape that is asymmetric about the axis of rotation.

22. The blood pump of claim 21 , wherein the housing comprises a first wall and a second wall that define the annular volume, the first wall flaring outward from the axis of rotation in a downstream direction along the axis of rotation, the second wall flaring inward toward the axis of rotation in a downstream direction along the axis of rotation.

23. The blood pump of claim 18 , wherein the leading edge is oriented substantially normal to a primary direction of fluid flow at the leading edge.

24. The blood pump of claim 18 , wherein the trailing edge is oriented substantially normal to a primary direction of fluid flow at the trailing edge.

Assignees

• Tc1 Llc

Inventors

• Woo Yi-Ren
• Dur Onur
• Reichenbach Steven H

Classifications

• A61M60/221

  the blood flow through the rotating member having both radial and axial components, e.g. mixed flow pumps · CPC title

• A61M60/232

  Centrifugal pumps · CPC title

• A61M60/178

  drawing blood from a ventricle and returning the blood to the arterial system via a cannula external to the ventricle, e.g. left or right ventricular assist devices · CPC title

• A61M60/422

  the force acting on the blood contacting member being electromagnetic, e.g. using canned motor pumps · CPC title

• F04D13/0646 Primary

  the hollow pump or motor shaft being the conduit for the working fluid · CPC title