Abstract
The purpose of the present study is to evaluate hemocompatibility of a centrifugal blood pump using a multi-arc radial bearing. We investigated eight pump models having bearing gaps of 20, 30, 40, 80, 90, 100, 180 and 250 μm. The orbital radius of the impeller was measured for evaluating the impeller stability. The hemocompatibility of the pump model was evaluated in a hemolysis test and an in-vitro antithrombogenic test. As a result of the measurement test, the orbital radius of the impeller was not greater than 15 μm when the bearing gap was between 20 and 100 μm. In the hemolysis test, the relative normalized index of hemolysis in comparison with BPX-80 were 37.67 (gap: 20 μm), 0.95 (gap: 30 μm), 0.96 (gap: 40 μm), 0.82 (gap: 80 μm), 0.77 (gap: 90 μm), 0.92 (gap: 100 μm), 2.76 (gap: 180 μm), and 2.78 (gap: 250 μm). The developed pump achieved better hemolytic property than BPX-80 when the bearing gap was between 30 and 100 μm. In the in-vitro antithrombogenic test, thrombus formation was not observed in the pump. We confirmed that the developed blood pump using a multi-arc radial bearing achieved suitable hemocompatibility, when the bearing gap was determined between 30 and 100 μm.
