Rotary Blood Pumps: New Developments and Current Applications

Rotary blood pumps increasingly are being used in open heart surgery a nd in assisted circulation for patients with heart disease. These rota ry devices include vortex (centrifugal) and axial pumps, which can be utilized in conditions where the use of conventional pulsatile pumps w ould entail problems of cost and size. Rapid progress is now being mad e in developing new devices for controlling blood flow within the hear t and great vessels, as well as extracorporeally, for use in coronary and intensive care units and, in the future, for long-term use. This b ook provides information on the physiology of nonpulsatile circulation , the development of rotary pump engineering, and the clinical applica tion of rotary blood pumps. It also presents an overview of future dev elopments in this important field.