Importance

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Abstract

A miniature high-speed intravascular blood pump is formed as a single stage with two rows of rotor blades and a single row of stator blades within a tubular housing. The rotor's first row produces a mixed centrifugal and axial flow, while the rotor's second row produces a purely axial flow. The blades of the second row are shaped so as to produce a uniform blood flow along the trailing edges of the blades. For this purpose, the bases of the outer trailing edges of the second row blades have a negative propulsion angle. The pump has a purge-sealed hydrostatic bearing which is spring-loaded for minimum gap. The pump is driven by a cable encased in a dual-lumen, fluid-filled cable sheath formed of a coextrusion of a soft, blood-compatible outer layer and a stiff, abrasion-resistant inner layer. The cable sheath serves both as a purge fluid supply for the bearing, and as a means for flushing abraded debris away from the pump.

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First Claim