Magnetically suspended centrifugal blood pump with a radial magnetic driver.

A new magnetic bearing has been designed to achieve a low electronic power requirement and high stiffness. The magnetic bearing consists of 1) radial passive forces between the permanent magnet ring mounted inside the impeller rotor and the electromagnet core materials in the pump casing and 2) radial active forces generated by the electromagnets using the two gap sensor signals. The magnetic bearing was assembled into a centrifugal rotary blood pump (CRBP) driven with a radial, magnetic coupled driver.