Granted Patent B2

US 12,728,255 · App. 17/274,585 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Inventors: Ingo Stotz (Ditzingen, DE); Johannes Bette (Stuttgart, DE); David Minzenmay (Stuttgart, DE); Fabian Eiberger (Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, DE)

Assignee: KARDION GMBH

A61M60/804A61M60/126A61M60/174A61M60/216A61M60/416A61M60/81A61M60/824A61M60/825A61M60/827F04D7/04F04D13/0633F04D29/22

Abstract

Claims (28)

1 . A cardiac support system comprising:

a sealed micropump, the sealed micropump comprising:

a housing comprising:

an outer wall, and

a spider bearing comprising:

one or more radial arms extending radially inward from an inner surface of the outer wall; and

an annular wall positioned at a radially inward end of the one or more radial arms, the annular wall having a continuous support surface;

an integrated motor;

at least one impeller operatively coupled to the integrated motor for generating a fluid flow inside the housing of the micropump, wherein the at least one impeller comprises an impeller pin; and

a sheathing disposed about and fixedly coupled to the impeller pin, the sheathing having an axial length greater than an axial length of the annular wall;

wherein:

the sheathing is comprised of a material different from a material of the spider bearing;

the sheathing is positioned radially between the continuous surface of the annular wall and the impeller pin such that the annular wall surrounds a portion of the sheathing and is configured to support the impeller pin; and

an interaction between a radially inward surface of the annular wall and a radial outward surface of the sheathing forms a radial sliding bearing.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the impeller pin and the spider bearing each comprise a metallic material, and wherein the sheathing of the impeller pin comprises a plastic material.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the impeller pin and the spider bearing each comprise titanium, and wherein the sheathing of the impeller pin comprises polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the impeller pin tapers in a region of the sheathing.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein a radial cross-section of the sheathing of the impeller pin in a bearing region is the same as a radial cross-section of the impeller pin outside the bearing region.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sheathing of the impeller pin comprises a coating.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sheathing of the impeller pin comprises a sleeve.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sheathing of the impeller pin extends beyond the spider bearing.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the sheathing comprises a cap, the cap comprising an extension extending beyond the spider bearing.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the extension tapers.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the extension is conical or semi-ellipsoidal.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sealed micropump is configured to pump blood.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein an outer diameter of the sealed micropump is at most 10 mm.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the cap comprises an extension that extends beyond the spider bearing.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sheathing comprises a radial outward surface having a constant outer dimension.

Assignments (2)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (400)