Various contactless bearing mechanisms including hydrodynamic and magnetic bearings are provided for a rotary pump as alternatives to mechanical contact bearings. In one embodiment, a pump apparatus includes a pump housing defining a pumping chamber. The housing has a spindle extending into the pumping chamber. A spindle magnet assembly includes first and second magnets disposed within the spindle. The first and second magnets are arranged proximate each other with their respective magnetic vectors opposing each other. The lack of mechanical contact bearings enables longer life pump operation and less damage to working fluids such as blood.

This invention is directed to a corrosion resistant permanent magnet, to a method for producing a corrosion resistant permanent magnet, and to an intravascular blood pump comprising the magnet. The magnet is corrosion resistant due to a composite coating comprising a metal layer, optionally a metal oxide layer, a layer formed from poly(2-chloro-p-xylylene), and a linker layer between the metal oxide layer and the poly(2-chloro-p-xylylene) layer.

This invention is directed to a corrosion resistant permanent magnet, to a method for producing a corrosion resistant permanent magnet, and to an intravascular blood pump comprising the magnet. The magnet is corrosion resistant due to a composite coating comprising a metal layer, optionally a metal oxide layer, a layer formed from poly(2-chloro-p-xylylene), and a linker layer between the metal oxide layer and the poly(2-chloro-p-xylylene) layer.

Various contactless bearing mechanisms including hydrodynamic and magnetic bearings are provided for a rotary pump as alternatives to mechanical contact bearings. In one embodiment, a pump apparatus includes a pump housing defining a pumping chamber. The housing has a spindle extending into the pumping chamber. A spindle magnet assembly includes first and second magnets disposed within the spindle. The first and second magnets are arranged proximate each other with their respective magnetic vectors opposing each other. The lack of mechanical contact bearings enables longer life pump operation and less damage to working fluids such as blood.

A blood flow assist system can include an impeller assembly including an impeller shaft and an impeller on the impeller shaft, a primary flow pathway disposed along an exterior surface of the impeller. The system can include a rotor assembly at a proximal portion of the impeller shaft. A secondary flow pathway can be disposed along a lumen of the impeller shaft. During operation of the blood flow assist system, blood can be pumped proximally along the primary flow pathway and the secondary flow pathway. The system can include a sleeve bearing distal the impeller. The system can include a drive unit having a distal end disposed distal a proximal end of the second impeller. The drive unit comprising a drive magnet and a drive bearing between the drive magnet and the impeller assembly.

The invention relates to a rotary blood pump including a housing having an internal chamber, a blood inlet port and a blood outlet port, a rotor including a plurality of blades and being adapted to rotate within the chamber. The pump includes a bearing system for controlling the position of the rotor wherein the bearing system includes one or more permanent magnets embedded in the rotor and one or more electromagnetic field inducing means embedded in the housing. The magnets embedded in the rotor are influenced by the electromagnetic field inducing means embedded in the housing for controlling the position of the rotor relative to the internal chamber of the housing and for driving rotation of the impeller within the chamber of the housing.

The invention relates to a rotor bearing system (1). Said system comprises a housing (80) in which a first permanent magnet (30) is mounted such that it can rotate about a first axis (105). A rotor (70) for conveying a liquid comprises a second hollow-cylindrical permanent magnet (40), which is mounted such that it can rotate about a second axis. The first permanent magnet (30) and the second permanent magnet (40) overlap axially at least partially, wherein the first permanent magnet (30) is disposed offset relative to the second permanent magnet (40). In the axial overlap region (160) of the first permanent magnet (30) and the second permanent magnet (40), the housing (80) is positioned between the two permanent magnets (30, 40). A first bearing (20) is configured for the relative axial positioning of the rotor (70) and the housing (80) with respect to one another and for receiving an axial force resulting from the arrangement of the first permanent magnet (30) and the second permanent magnet (40), and a second bearing (10) and a third bearing (90) are configured for receiving radial forces and for positioning the axis of rotation of the second permanent magnet (40).

The present disclosure relates to a stiffness enhancing mechanism for a magnetic suspension bearing, a magnetic suspension bearing including the stiffness enhancing mechanism, and a blood pump. The magnetic suspension bearing comprises a stator with stator teeth and a rotor disposed within the stator. The stiffness enhancing mechanism comprises: a rotor permanent magnet, a stator permanent magnet, and an axial driving body. The rotor permanent magnet and the rotor of the magnetic suspension bearing form a rotor assembly, which has an asymmetric structure with respect to the main plane (P) of the rotor. The stiffness enhancing mechanism is configured such that the stator permanent magnet generates a radial attractive force to the rotor permanent magnet, and the axial driving body generates an axial repulsive force to the rotor permanent magnet, wherein the magnitude of the axial repulsive force is variable with a change of an axial distance between the axial driving body and the rotor permanent magnet. The stiffness enhancing mechanism can increase the torsional stiffness of the rotor of the magnetic suspension bearing and facilitate the miniaturization of the magnetic suspension bearing.

A magnetically levitated motor includes a stator, a rotor configured to rotate relative to the stator, and a passive radial magnetic bearing configured to support the rotor relative to the stator in a radial direction. An active longitudinal magnetic bearing is configured to selectively position the rotor relative to the stator in an axial direction.

An axial flux motor includes a housing; a drive shaft disposed within the housing; at least one rotor; and at least one stator. The at least one rotor includes a diametrically-magnetized single pole pair magnetic ring having a rotor aperture defined through the center of the magnetic ring, where the drive shaft extends through the rotor aperture and where the at least one rotor is fixed to the drive shaft. The at least one stator includes a number of conductive windings and a stator aperture, where the drive shaft extends through the stator aperture and where the drive shaft is rotatable within the aperture. The at least one stator is configured to generate an axial magnetic field that causes the at least one rotor to rotate, thereby rotating the drive shaft.