Some embodiments of percutaneous ventricular assist devices have a two-part design that includes a housing component and a separately deployable rotatable inner catheter component. The housing component can include an expandable pump housing. The inner catheter can include an expandable pump impeller and an associated flexible drive shaft. The drive shaft can be coupled to a motor located external to the patient. The motor can rotate the drive shaft to spin the pump impeller inside of the pump housing, causing blood to be pumped within the patient. In some embodiments, the pump impeller is inflatable or self-expandable. The two-part percutaneous ventricular assist devices with inflatable or self-expandable pump impellers are designed to have very small delivery profiles. Accordingly, various deployment modalities, including radial artery deployment, are practicable using the two-part percutaneous ventricular assist devices described herein.

The invention relates to a catheter device, comprising a drive shaft extending from a driving region of the catheter device to a distal end region of the catheter device, a rotor which is attached to the drive shaft in the distal end region and a distal bearing for bearing a distal end of the drive shaft. The distal bearing comprises a drive shaft cover which is configured to cover a section of the drive shaft extending distally of the rotor. On a distal side of the rotor, a radially inner part of the rotor is recessed with respect to radially outer parts of the rotor to form a hollow space surrounding the drive shaft, wherein a proximal end of the drive shaft cover lies in said hollow space.

The invention relates to a catheter device, comprising a drive shaft extending from a driving region of the catheter device to a distal end region of the catheter device, a rotor which is attached to the drive shaft in the distal end region and a distal bearing for bearing a distal end of the drive shaft. The distal bearing comprises a drive shaft cover which is configured to cover a section of the drive shaft extending distally of the rotor. On a distal side of the rotor, a radially inner part of the rotor is recessed with respect to radially outer parts of the rotor to form a hollow space surrounding the drive shaft, wherein a proximal end of the drive shaft cover lies in said hollow space.

A rotor for a pump has a housing and a rotor, and has at least one blade. The rotor is able to be actuated to rotate about an axis of rotation in order to convey a fluid in the axial or radial direction, and the rotor is able to be deformed in the radial direction between a first, radially compressed state and a second, radially expanded state. At a maximum speed of rotation of the rotor at which the power of the pump is at a maximum, the blade is essentially radially oriented, and/or the rotor has its maximum diameter.

An assembly with a blood pump and a control unit to control the flow rate at the blood pump includes a device that is designed to deliver a parameter of the breathing cycle or a parameter associated with the breathing cycle. In this way, it is also made possible for a parameter that correlates to the breathing cycle to be used to control the blood pump, in order to proactively prevent problems associated with the drainage.

An integrated flow source is a limiting factor in numerous microfluidic applications. In addition to precise gradients and controlling molecular transports, a built-in source of stable and accurate flow can enable novel shear stress modulations for long-term cell culturing studies. The Tesla turbine, when used as a pump on the microfluidic regime, produces stable and accurate fluid gradients by utilizing laminar flow between its rotating discs Utilizing a stereolithography based 3D printer, a tesla pump (Ø10 cm) and associated housing capable of driving a microfluidic gradient is provided having a printed rotor surface topology of the pump in order to enhance pumping of biological fluids like blood at elevated viscosities. The surface topology is tuned via 3D pixilation, and this modulation completely recovered the pressure loss between pumping water at 1 cP versus glycerol solution at 3 cP. As a result, increased fluid viscosities, and even Non-Newtonian viscosities, can be used.

An impeller and a ventricular assist device are provided. The impeller comprises a hub and at least one blade fixed on an outer periphery of the hub; the hub comprises an inlet end and an outlet end; the blade comprises an action surface, an contour line of the action surface comprises an outer edge profile line away from the hub, an endpoint of the outer edge profile line close to the inlet end is a start point of the profile line, and an endpoint of the outer edge profile line close to the outlet end is an end point of the profile line; the outer edge profile line is a smooth space curve, and a curvature of the outer edge profile line along an axial direction of the hub gradually decreases from the start point of the profile line to the end point of the profile line.

An impeller and a ventricular assist device are provided. The impeller comprises a hub and at least one blade fixed on an outer periphery of the hub; the hub comprises an inlet end and an outlet end; the blade comprises an action surface, an contour line of the action surface comprises an outer edge profile line away from the hub, an endpoint of the outer edge profile line close to the inlet end is a start point of the profile line, and an endpoint of the outer edge profile line close to the outlet end is an end point of the profile line; the outer edge profile line is a smooth space curve, and a curvature of the outer edge profile line along an axial direction of the hub gradually decreases from the start point of the profile line to the end point of the profile line.

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.

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.