Ferrofluid-supported electromagnetic drive for a blood pump for supporting the heart or partially or totally replacing the heart

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.
1 shows the principle of the drive schematically for a one-chamber system in a sectional drawing.
The ventricular capacity 10 is tightly enclosed by the ventricular wall 9 of the blood chamber 110.
The upper ventricular wall 19 has been formed as a bending-elastic membrane 39 and has flow-in pipe 11 and flow-out pipes 111 as well as ventricle 12.
The flexibility of the ventricular wall 9 permits the squeezing of the ventricular capacity 10 by the drive 1 up to 6.
The required load transmission is ensured by the direct contact of the upper ventricular wall 9 with the lower core half 2.
The fixation of the resting parts takes place by the housing 8 which has been positively connected with the lower ventricular wall 29 on the one hand and with the upper core half 1 on the other.
According to one aspect of the invention, a housing forms a closed container and a single blood chamber having a diaphragm 15 disposed in the container.
An inlet connector is furnished at the single blood chamber and an outlet connector is furnished at the single blood chamber.
An electromagnetic drive is disposed in the container and engages the diaphragm wall for filling the blood chamber by suction force through the inlet connector 113 and for emptying the blood chamber by pressure force through the outlet connector 213.
The electro-magnetic drive comprises a first core, a first coil attached to the first core, a second core, a second coil attached to the second core, wherein the second core engages the diaphragm and wherein the coils are operated cyclically as to provide a pulsating motion to the diaphragm.
A bias spring biases the first core relative to the second core by exerting a force between the first core and to the second core and thereby pressing the first core away from the second core.
A magnetic fluid is disposed in the area of the first core and of the second core for interposing between the first core and the second core upon activation of an electromagnetic field in the area of the first core and of the second core and thereby driving the second core toward the first core and thereby engaging the diaphragm for suction filling the single blood chamber