Recent Studies of the Centrifugal Blood Pump with a Magnetically Suspended Impeller

Abstract

We have been developing a centrifugal blood pump with a magnetically suspended impeller. To improve pump efficiency, we investigated the pump performances of many kinds of impeller vanes and diffusers, as well as the flow in the gap between the impeller discs and the pump housing. We found the vanes and the diffusers with high pump efficiency; however, high efficiency does not mean low hemolysis. It seems important to prevent generation of small-sized eddies with high shear stress. Hemolysis tests are carried out to find the optimal vane profile and gap clearance. The index of hemolysis and temperature change of our pump is better than those of the Biopump. Short-term in vivo studies show that the layer of white thrombi adheres to the machined rough surface of polycarbonate, which composes the narrow gap (0.2 mm) between the impeller and the pump wall, but a smooth surface coated with silicon prevents adhesion of that layer.