Heart-Lung Perfusion Pump

Overview

A heart-lung perfusion pump, or cardiopulmonary bypass console, takes over the work of the heart and lungs during open-heart surgery. While the surgeon stops the heart, the machine drains venous blood, adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide through a disposable oxygenator, controls its temperature, and pumps it back into the arterial circulation, all under the continuous control of a perfusionist. Everything that touches blood is a sterile single-use circuit; the console provides the motors, sensors, and safety logic.

Blood flow is generated by the pump heads. The Roller Pump Head units propel blood by squeezing tubing against a raceway, giving precise, pulsatile-capable flow, while the Centrifugal Pump Drive spins a disposable impeller for gentler, pressure-limited arterial flow. The disposable oxygenator and venous reservoir hang on the Oxygenator & Reservoir Mount, and the Heater-Cooler Interface runs temperature-controlled water through the oxygenator's heat exchanger to cool and rewarm the patient. The Safety Sensor Module watches pressures, bubbles, and reservoir level, and the perfusionist runs it all from the Control Console.

How it works

Two pump principles cover different needs. The Roller Pump Head is occlusive: its rollers fully compress the tubing, so output depends only on head speed and tubing size, making flow exactly metered and easy to calibrate, its Flow Encoder counts revolutions to report delivered volume. The Centrifugal Pump Drive is non-occlusive, driving the impeller through a Magnetic Coupling so no shaft pierces the blood path; it cannot pump a large air bolus and it limits pressure, which is safer for long runs.

Safety interlocks define the rest of the design. The Safety Sensor Module reads line Pressure Sensors to catch occlusions, an ultrasonic bubble detector to stop the pump before air reaches the patient, and a reservoir level sensor to prevent the pump from running dry. Patient temperature is managed by circulating water through the Heater-Cooler Interface into the oxygenator, letting the team cool the patient for protection and rewarm before coming off bypass. Because a power loss mid-bypass is catastrophic, the Battery Backup keeps the critical pumps turning long enough to finish or safely transition, and the Control Console continuously displays flows, pressures, and alarms so the perfusionist holds the patient's entire circulation in view.