CATHETER BLOOD PUMPS AND COLLAPSIBLE PUMP HOUSINGS

1 . An intravascular catheter blood pump, comprising:

a collapsible blood conduit and one or more impellers at least partially disposed therein; and

first and second blood conduit support struts coupled to the blood conduit and extending axially from the blood conduit at an inflow or an outflow of a pump portion of the blood pump,

the first and second support struts axially and circumferentially spaced from one another.

2 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second support struts is positioned and configured to facilitate collapse of the blood conduit in response to a sheathing force applied from a sheathing member moving in a distal direction.

3 . The blood pump of claim 2 , wherein the first support strut has a surface positioned proximally relative to the second strut such that the surface is positioned to contact the sheathing member moving in the distal direction.

4 . The blood pump of claim 2 , wherein the first and second struts are disposed and arranged relative to one another such that radially inward collapsing movement of the first strut in response to contact from a distally moving sheathing member causes radially inward collapsing movement of the second strut.

5 . The blood pump of claim 4 , wherein the second strut has a second strut region with a greater slope than a central region of the first strut, wherein the central region is better adapted to facilitate collapse from contact from a sheathing member than the second strut region, and wherein the second strut region is better adapted to provide radial support to the fluid conduit than the central region.

6 . The blood pump of claim 4 , wherein the first and second struts are arranged relative to each other such that initiation of radial collapse of the first strut causes a distal end region of the second strut to radially collapse.

7 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the first and second struts are unitarily formed from the same starting material.

8 . The blood pump of claim 7 , wherein the first strut has a proximal end formed from the starting material and deformed radially outward from the starting material, and wherein a proximal end of the second strut is not deformed radially outward from the starting material.

9 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein proximal ends of each of the first and second struts extend from a common surface.

10 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein none of the first strut is circumferentially overlapping with the second strut.

11 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein proximal ends of the first and second struts are axially spaced from each other.

12 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein distal regions of the first and second struts are connected by a circumferentially extending circumferential connector that is circumferentially in between the first and second struts.

13 . The blood pump claim 1 , wherein the first and second struts are unitarily formed with at least a proximal scaffold region of the blood conduit.

14 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the first and second struts have linear configurations in an end view of the device.

15 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the first and second support struts are disposed in the inflow.

16 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the first and second support struts are disposed in the outflow.

17 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein widths of the first and second struts are different.

18 . The blood pump of claim 1 , wherein the first strut is distal to the second strut, and the first strut has a width that is less than a width of the second strut.

19 . The blood pump of claim 18 , wherein the width of the first strut causes less flow effects than if the first strut had the same width as the second strut.

20 . The blood pump of claim 18 , wherein the second strut supports at least one other structural member, such as a sensor wire.

21 - 27 . (canceled)