A catheter system includes a catheter including an elongate body having an expandable medical device coupled with a distal end thereof, and an introducer sheath assembly disposed over a proximal section of the catheter. The introducer sheath assembly includes an introducer sheath disposed over the catheter to form a gap therebetween, and a tubular plug. The introducer sheath includes an elongate body extending from a proximal end to a distal end and defining a lumen therein. The tubular plug extends through the lumen and includes an elongate body extending from a proximal end to a distal end that protrudes from the introducer sheath distal end. The plug is disposed between the catheter and the introducer sheath to occlude the gap. The plug is releasably fixed relative to the introducer sheath such that the plug is removable from the lumen to allow the expandable medical device to pass therethrough.

The present invention provides an intravascular blood pump comprising an impeller housing and/or impeller blade(s) that may be expandable and collapsible. The blade(s) and/or impeller housing may be biased to expand or may be expanded by centrifugal forces generated during rotation of the impeller and blades with an operatively connected rotational motor.

The present invention provides an intravascular blood pump comprising an impeller housing and/or impeller blade(s) that may be expandable and collapsible. The blade(s) and/or impeller housing may be biased to expand or may be expanded by centrifugal forces generated during rotation of the impeller and blades with an operatively connected rotational motor.

A peristaltic pump-based apparatus for capturing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood is provided that includes a feedback control architecture that uses models of pump operation and measures of internal pressure fluctuations of the pump (e.g., in the form time-varying and/or position-dependent pressure oscillation data) to adjust pump operating characteristics that smooth pump operation, thereby improving viscosity and consistency of fluid flowing through the pump to a connected microfluidic capture device.

Mechanical circulatory supports configured to operate in series with the native heart are disclosed. In an embodiment, an intravascular propeller is installed into the descending aorta and anchored within via an expandable anchoring mechanism. The propeller and anchoring mechanism may be foldable so as to be percutaneously deliverable to the aorta. The propeller may have foldable blades. The blades may be magnetic and may be driven by a concentric electromagnetic stator circumferentially outside the magnetic blades. The stator may be intravascular or may be configured to be installed around the outer circumference of the blood vessel. The support may create a pressure rise between about 20-50 mmHg, and maintain a flow rate of about 5 L/min. The support may have one or more pairs of contra-rotating propellers to modulate the tangential velocity of the blood flow. The support may have static pre-swirlers and or de-swirlers. The support may be optimized to replicate naturally occurring vortex formation within the descending aorta.

Devices for moving blood within a patient, and methods of doing so. The devices can include a pump portion that includes an impeller and a housing around the impeller, as well as a fluid lumen. The impeller can be activated to cause rotation of the impeller and thereby move fluid within the fluid lumen.

The invention relates to a fluid pump comprising at least one impeller blade (1, 1′, 1″) which is rotatable about an axis of rotation (3) and conveys a fluid in operation and comprising a support device (4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 12′, 13, 13′, 14, 14′, 15, 17) which supports the at least one impeller blade (1, 1′, 1″) in at least one support region, wherein the support device is change-able between a first state in which the rotor is radially compressed and a second state in which the rotor is radially expanded; and wherein at least one impeller blade extends at least partly radially inwardly with respect to the axis of rotation (3) from the support region/support regions in the radially expanded state of the rotor.

In a rotor for a fluid pump which is made radially compressible and expandable and has a hub and at least one conveying element which has a plurality of struts and at least one membrane which can be spanned between them, provision is made for a design in accordance with the invention which is as simple and inexpensive as possible that at least one first group of struts is pivotable in a pivot plane, starting from a common base, and can thus be spanned open in the manner of a fan, wherein the conveying element lies along the hub and contacts it over its full length in the expanded state to avoid a pressure loss at the margin of the conveying element between it and the hub and thus to realize an optimum efficiency.

In a rotor for a fluid pump which is made radially compressible and expandable and has a hub and at least one conveying element which has a plurality of struts and at least one membrane which can be spanned between them, provision is made for a design in accordance with the invention which is as simple and inexpensive as possible that at least one first group of struts is pivotable in a pivot plane, starting from a common base, and can thus be spanned open in the manner of a fan, wherein the conveying element lies along the hub and contacts it over its full length in the expanded state to avoid a pressure loss at the margin of the conveying element between it and the hub and thus to realize an optimum efficiency.

A catheter pump system is disclosed. The catheter pump system can include a shaft assembly and an impeller coupled with a distal portion of the shaft assembly. The catheter pump system can include a motor assembly, the motor assembly comprising a chamber and a shaft-driving portion disposed in the chamber. The shaft-driving portion can be configured to impart rotation to the impeller through the shaft assembly. The chamber can be filled with a gas that at least partially surrounds the shaft-driving portion. A fluid pathway can convey fluid proximally during operation of the catheter pump system. A bypass pathway can be in fluid communication with the fluid pathway, the bypass pathway configured to direct at least a portion of the fluid to bypass the chamber.