	US 11,951,299 B2
	Intravascular blood pump
Frank Kirchhoff, Aachen (DE); Thorsten Siess, Aachen (DE); and Wolfgang Kerkhoffs, Aachen (DE)
Assigned to ABIOMED, INC., Danvers, MA (US)
Appl. No. 16/981,903
Filed by Abiomed Europe Gmbh, Aachen (DE)
PCT Filed Mar. 21, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/057168 § 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 17, 2020, PCT Pub. No. WO2019/180181, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 26, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18163763 (EP), filed on Mar. 23, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0113825 A1, Apr. 22, 2021
Int. Cl. A61M 60/829 (2021.01); A61M 60/13 (2021.01); A61M 60/135 (2021.01); A61M 60/148 (2021.01); A61M 60/174 (2021.01); A61M 60/205 (2021.01); A61M 60/216 (2021.01); A61M 60/242 (2021.01); A61M 60/416 (2021.01); A61M 60/422 (2021.01); A61M 60/81 (2021.01); A61M 60/818 (2021.01); A61M 60/825 (2021.01); A61M 60/857 (2021.01)

CPC A61M 60/829 (2021.01) [A61M 60/13 (2021.01); A61M 60/135 (2021.01); A61M 60/148 (2021.01); A61M 60/174 (2021.01); A61M 60/205 (2021.01); A61M 60/216 (2021.01); A61M 60/242 (2021.01); A61M 60/416 (2021.01); A61M 60/422 (2021.01); A61M 60/81 (2021.01); A61M 60/818 (2021.01); A61M 60/825 (2021.01); A61M 60/857 (2021.01); A61M 2205/0211 (2013.01); A61M 2205/0222 (2013.01); A61M 2205/0233 (2013.01); A61M 2205/103 (2013.01); A61M 2205/3606 (2013.01)]

25 Claims

1. An intravascular blood pump, comprising a rotatable shaft carrying an impeller and a housing having an opening, wherein the shaft extends through the opening with the impeller positioned outside said housing, the shaft and the housing having surfaces forming a circumferential gap within said opening, wherein the gap has a length and has a width of 2 μm or less over at least a part of said length and wherein at least one of the surfaces forming the gap is made of a material having a thermal conductivity of at least 100 W/mK; wherein the gap converges towards an impeller-side end of the gap and said width of 2 μm or less is located somewhere within 50% of the length of the gap closest to said impeller-side end of the gap.