Further development on a gentle electromagnetic pump for fluids with stress-sensitive microparticles

This paper presents further development on a new pump concept that was developed for gentle pumping of fluids in biomedical and bioprocessing applications. The pumped fluid in those applications contains stress sensitive microparticles, and they must be pumped gently in order to preserve their fragile constituents. The proposed concept utilizes two traveling electromagnetic fields to drive two permanent-magnet pistons inside an annular tube housing, producing a gentle, valve-less, and bearing-less positive displacement pumping action. The proposed pump was tested in-vitro using human blood according to published international protocols for the assessment of the hemolytic properties of continuous flow blood pumps used in extracorporeal or implantable circulatory assist devices. The Normalized Index of Hemolysis (NIH) for this prototype is comparable with top ranking blood pumps found in the market today.