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.

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.

A disclosed apparatus or method can include or use a non-transluminally implantable blood pump housing, which can be sized and shaped to be implanted at an aortic valve of a human subject, the pump housing can include: a pump housing cross-sectional profile size that is larger than is passable via a blood vessel of the human subject; and a power connection, configured for being electrically connected to an intravascular lead that is sized and shaped to extend from the pump housing through a subclavian artery of the human subject.

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.

A percutaneous circulatory support device includes a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet, an impeller disposed within the housing and being rotatable relative to the housing to cause blood to flow into the inlet, through the housing, and out of the outlet, a cannula coupled to the housing, the cannula extending between a proximal section and a distal section opposite the proximal section, and an expandable element configured for inflation and deflation, the expandable element having a length that is approximately equal to a length of a body of the cannula. The expandable element is configured for providing an increased stiffness to the cannula.

A percutaneous circulatory support device includes a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet, an impeller disposed within the housing and being rotatable relative to the housing to cause blood to flow into the inlet, through the housing, and out of the outlet, a cannula coupled to the housing, the cannula extending between a proximal section and a distal section opposite the proximal section, and an expandable element configured for inflation and deflation, the expandable element having a length that is approximately equal to a length of a body of the cannula. The expandable element is configured for providing an increased stiffness to the cannula.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for controlling ventricular assist devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving at least one reference pump speed differential associated with a pump of a ventricular assist device; determining a filtered pump speed differential associated with the pump of a ventricular assist device; and adjusting, using a feedback based controller algorithm, current to the pump based on the at least one reference pump speed differential and the filtered pump speed differential. In some embodiments, the system includes a controller implemented using the non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the controller is configured for receiving at least one reference pump speed differential associated with a pump of a ventricular assist device; determining a filtered pump speed differential associated with the pump of a ventricular assist device; and adjusting current to the pump based on the at least one reference pump speed differential and the filtered pump speed differential.

A centrifugal fluid pump with a fully magnetically suspended rotor to improve blood compatibility when pumping blood is disclosed. The pump stabilizes radial displacements of a disc-like rotor with active control through separate electric motor and magnetic bearings to improve the pump's critical performances including device packaging size, system simplicity and reliability, stiffness and other dynamic performances of suspension, power efficiency, and others.

A method and a device for the measurement of one or more fluid-mechanically effective parameters of a fluid, with a fluid pump which comprises a delivery element which is mounted in a magnet bearing, and the delivery element of the fluid pump is excited into an oscillation by way of an excitation device, wherein the oscillation parameters as well as, as the case may be, the oscillation behaviour is measured, and parameters of the fluid are determined from this.

A centrifugal fluid pump with a fully magnetically suspended rotor to improve blood compatibility when pumping blood is disclosed. The pump stabilizes radial displacements of a disc-like rotor with active control through separate electric motor and magnetic bearings to improve the pump's critical performances including device packaging size, system simplicity and reliability, stiffness and other dynamic performances of suspension, power efficiency, and others.