Blood pump using cross-flow principles

A method for assisting a patient's heart, comprising the steps of:

• providing a cross-flow pump head having a housing portion defining a blood inlet port on a surface thereof and a blood outlet port on a surface thereof;
• introducing via the patient's arteries said cross-flow pump head having within said housing portion an impeller having an impeller blades which rotate about a rotational axis, with said impeller being located within said housing intermediate said blood inlet port and said blood outlet port for providing radial blood movement from said inlet port, through the impeller blades and across said rotational axis to the outlet port, and a motor for driving said cross-flow pump head;
• coupling said cross-flow pump head to the patient's heart;
• and
• driving the cross-flow pump head with a motor to rotate the impeller and accelerate the blood from the inlet port and through the impeller blades within the housing portion.

A method for assisting a patient's heart, comprising the steps of:

• inserting a catheter into a patient's artery;
• introducing through the catheter a cross-flow pump including (a) a cross-flow pump head having a housing portion defining a blood inlet port on a surface thereof and a blood outlet port on a surface thereof, (b) an impeller having impeller blades which rotate about a rotational axis, said impeller located within said housing intermediate said blood inlet port and said blood outlet port for providing radial blood movement from said inlet port, through the impeller blades and across said rotational axis to the outlet port, (c) a motor for driving the cross-flow pump head, and (d) a collapsed outflow tube coupled to the blood flow outlet;
• locating the cross-flow pump head in the patient's ventricle with said outflow tube extending into the patient's aorta through the aortic valve;
• removing a catheter;
• and
• energizing the motor to rotate the impeller and accelerate the blood from the inlet port and through the impeller blades within the housing portion whereby the blood is pumped from the left ventricle to the aorta.