Flow estimation using hall-effect sensors for measuring impeller eccentricity

1. A blood circulation assist system, comprising:

a blood pump including an impeller disposed within a blood flow channel of the blood pump and a motor stator operable to magnetically rotate the impeller, the impeller having an impeller axis of rotation around which the impeller is rotated, the motor stator being further operable to magnetically levitate the impeller within the blood flow channel transverse to the impeller axis of rotation;

a controller operatively coupled with the blood pump, the controller being configured to:

determine an impeller rotational speed for the impeller;

determine an amount of a drive current used to rotate the impeller;

determine at least one impeller transverse position parameter, the at least one impeller transverse position parameter being based on at least one of (1) an amount of a bearing current that is used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis of rotation, and (2) a position of the impeller within the blood flow channel transverse to the impeller axis of rotation;

estimate a flow rate of blood pumped by the blood pump based on the impeller rotational speed and the drive current when the drive current is below a first drive current threshold; and

estimate the flow rate based on the impeller rotational speed and the at least one impeller transverse position parameter when the drive current is above the first drive current threshold.

2. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate the flow rate based on the impeller rotational speed, the drive current, and the at least one impeller transverse position parameter when the drive current is between a second drive current threshold and a third drive current threshold.

3. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the first drive current threshold varies based on the impeller rotational speed.

4. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the first drive current threshold is based on characteristics of variation in the amount of bearing current used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis of rotation in response to variation in the impeller rotational speed.

5. The blood circulation assist system of claim 4 , wherein the first drive current threshold is selected such that the amount of bearing current used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis increases in response to a decrease in the impeller rotational speed for drive currents above the first drive current threshold.

6. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the impeller impels the blood centrifugally and the blood pumped by the blood pump is output in a direction transverse to the impeller axis of rotation.

7. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one impeller transverse position parameter is indicative of an amount of eccentricity of the impeller within the blood flow channel.

8. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one sensor generating output indicative of the position of the impeller within the blood flow channel transverse to the impeller axis of rotation.

9. The blood circulation system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of hall sensors generating output indicative of magnetic flux levels of the motor stator.

10. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the amount of a bearing current that is used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis of rotation so as to substantially minimize power consumption of the blood pump.

11. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control eccentricity of the impeller within the blood flow channel so as to substantially minimize power consumption of the blood pump.

12. The blood circulation assist system of claim 11 , wherein the flow rate is estimated based on eccentricity of the impeller within the blood flow channel when the drive current is above the first drive current threshold.

13. The blood circulation assist system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate a pressure differential across the impeller based on the at least one impeller transverse position parameter.

14. A method for estimating blood flow rate in a blood circulation assist system, the method comprising:

magnetically rotating an impeller around an impeller axis of rotation within a blood flow channel of a blood pump;

magnetically levitating the impeller within the blood flow channel transverse to the impeller axis of rotation;

determining, with a controller operatively coupled with the blood pump, an impeller rotational speed for the impeller;

determining, with the controller, at least one impeller transverse position parameter, the at least one impeller transverse position parameter being based on at least one of (1) an amount of a bearing current that is used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis of rotation, and (2) a position of the impeller within the blood flow channel transverse to the impeller axis of rotation; and

estimating, with the controller, a flow rate of blood pumped by the blood pump based on the impeller rotational speed and the at least one impeller transverse position parameter.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining, with the controller, an amount of a drive current used to rotate the impeller; and

estimating, with the controller, a flow rate of blood pumped by the blood pump based on the impeller rotational speed and the drive current.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the flow rate is estimated:

based on the impeller rotational speed and the drive current when the drive current is below a first drive current threshold; and

based on the impeller rotational speed and the at least one impeller transverse position parameter when the drive current is above the first drive threshold.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising selecting the first drive current threshold such that the amount of bearing current used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis increases in response to a decrease in the impeller rotational speed for drive currents above the first drive current threshold.

18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining, with the controller, an amount of a drive current used to rotate the impeller; and

estimating, with the controller, the flow rate based on the impeller rotational speed, the drive current, and the at least one impeller transverse position parameter when the drive current is between a second drive current threshold and a third drive current threshold.

19. The method of claim 14 , comprising controlling the amount of the bearing current used to levitate the impeller transverse to the impeller axis of rotation so as to substantially minimize power consumption of the blood pump.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the impeller impels the blood centrifugally and the blood pumped by the blood pump is output in a direction transverse to the impeller axis of rotation.

21. The method of claim 14 , comprising processing, with the controller, output from a plurality of hall sensors indicative of magnetic flux levels used to levitate the impeller within the blood flow channel to determine eccentricity of the impeller within the blood flow channel, and wherein the at least one impeller transverse position parameter is indicative of the determined eccentricity.

22. The method of claim 14 , comprising estimating, with the controller, a pressure differential across the impeller based on the at least one impeller transverse position parameter.