Patents by Inventor Frank Kirchhoff
Frank Kirchhoff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
-
Patent number: 11446482Abstract: An intravascular blood pump having a rotatable shaft carrying an impeller and a housing with an opening through which the shaft extends with the impeller positioned outside the housing. The shaft and the housing have surfaces forming a circumferential gap which converges towards the impeller-side end of the gap and which has a minimum gap width of preferably no more than 5 ?m, more preferably no more than 2 ?m.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2019Date of Patent: September 20, 2022Assignee: Abiomed Europe GmbHInventors: Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess, Wolfgang Kerkhoffs
-
Patent number: 11413446Abstract: An intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion comprises a catheter (10) and a pumping device (1) attached to the catheter (10). The catheter (10) extends along a longitudinal axis and has a distal end (11) and a proximal end (12) opposite the distal end (11). The catheter (10) comprises an elongate stiffening structure (15) extending continuously longitudinally along the length of the catheter (10) between the proximal end (11) and the distal end (12) of the catheter (10). The stiffening structure (15) may comprise a shape-memory material, such as Nitinol. It may be in the form of a wire that extends loosely through the lumen of the catheter and helps to avoid or significantly reduce kinks in the catheter.Type: GrantFiled: May 3, 2018Date of Patent: August 16, 2022Assignee: ABIOMED EUROPE GMBHInventors: Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Publication number: 20210402170Abstract: A method of manufacturing a cannula (4) for an intravascular blood pump comprises the steps of forming a first axial section (13) and a second axial section (15) of an elongate tubular body of the cannula (4) by dispensing a first liquid material and a second liquid material, respectively, onto a mandrel (7) by means of at least one dispenser (8). The mandrel (7) is rotated and the dispenser (8) moves relative to the mandrel (7) in an axial direction during dispensing of the liquid materials. The first and second axial sections (13, 15) are formed so as to have different bending stiffnesses. The first and second liquid materials are dispensed onto the mandrel (7) such that the first and second liquid materials blend into each other to form a smooth transition area (14).Type: ApplicationFiled: June 21, 2018Publication date: December 30, 2021Inventors: Walid Aboulhosn, Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Publication number: 20210361926Abstract: A sheath assembly for the insertion of a percutaneous pump includes a tubular sheath body dimensioned for insertion into a blood vessel through a vessel aperture. The tubular sheath body includes a wall having a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, a longitudinal axis, an outer surface, an inner surface defining a first lumen substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and a second lumen disposed within the wall between the inner surface and the outer surface and extending from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion. The first lumen is dimensioned to allow passage of a portion of the percutaneous pump, and the second lumen is dimensioned for passage of a guidewire. A stylet is removably positioned to substantially occlude the second lumen. The stylet has a proximal end releasably secured to the sheath assembly.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 18, 2021Publication date: November 25, 2021Applicant: ABIOMED, Inc.Inventors: Scott C. Corbett, Glen R. Fantuzzi, John Murphy, Frank Kirchhoff, David Brousseau, Thorsten Siess
-
Publication number: 20210299433Abstract: A blood pump comprises a pump section and a flow cannula. A proximal end portion of the flow cannula is connected to the pump section such that blood can enter the blood flow inlet, and a distal end portion of the flow cannula includes at least one blood flow-through opening for blood to enter the flow cannula. The distal end portion comprises an enlarged diameter portion, with at least a major portion of the blood flow-through opening being disposed in the enlarged diameter portion. The blood pump further comprises a sleeve overlapping the enlarged diameter portion. The sleeve has a structure that prevents its distal end from bending radially inwards into the blood flow-through openings.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 14, 2021Publication date: September 30, 2021Applicant: Abiomed Europe GmbHInventors: Thorsten Siess, Walid Aboulhosn, Frank Kirchhoff, Christoph Nix, Gerd Bruno Spanier
-
Publication number: 20210213273Abstract: An intravascular blood pump includes a pump housing having an input port and an output port. A relatively short intake cannula may draw blood in through an intake port and deliver the blood to the input port of the pump housing. The intake cannula is relatively short, to prevent excess hydraulic loss. An outflow hose is connected to the output port of the pump housing, so as to convey blood exiting the output port through the outflow hose in a downstream direction to a discharge port, e.g. into an aorta or other blood vessel. Despite the short intake cannula, the outflow hose longitudinally separates the intake port from the discharge port sufficiently so the intake port and the discharge port remain on opposite sides of a heart valve, despite inadvertent longitudinal shifts of the intravascular heart pump.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 13, 2021Publication date: July 15, 2021Inventors: Gerd Spanier, Zhongwei Qi, Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Patent number: 11020584Abstract: The invention relates to an intravascular blood pump. The blood pump comprises a pump section and a flow cannula. A proximal end portion of the flow cannula is connected to the pump section such that blood can enter the blood flow inlet, and a distal end portion of the flow cannula includes at least one blood flow-through opening for blood to enter the flow cannula. The distal end portion comprises an enlarged diameter portion, with at least a major portion of the blood flow-through opening being disposed in the enlarged diameter portion. The blood pump further comprises a sleeve overlapping the enlarged diameter portion. The sleeve has a structure that prevents its distal end from bending radially inwards into the blood flow-through openings.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2017Date of Patent: June 1, 2021Assignee: ABIOMED EUROPE GMBHInventors: Thorsten Siess, Walid Aboulhosn, Frank Kirchhoff, Christoph Nix, Gerd Spanier
-
Publication number: 20210146109Abstract: A sheath for producing a fully sealed access to the interior of a vessel of an animal or human body comprises a base sheath having a tubular body defining a pass-through channel. The base sheath is adapted to be inserted into the vessel through a vessel aperture. A wall of the tubular body of the base sheath has a through channel. This channel extends in the wall from the distal end towards the proximal end. The channel can be present separately from the pass-through channel of the base sheath or can form a sideways extension of the pass-through channel, at least at the distal end. Such through channel is adapted to conduct blood from the vessel to the proximal end of the sheath when the sheath has been inserted into a vessel.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 1, 2020Publication date: May 20, 2021Inventors: Thorsten Siess, Christoph Nix, Frank Kirchhoff, Patrick Hunziker
-
Publication number: 20210140434Abstract: The invention relates to a micromotor (10), the stator of which contains a back iron jacket (18). Said back iron jacket consists of a continuous unslotted sleeve consisting of a metal alloy that contains ferritic iron as the main constituent, up to 30% chromium and preferably aluminium and yttrium oxide. Electric conductivity is reduced by the oxidation of the aluminium. The yttrium oxide performs the same function. The reduced electric conductivity suppresses eddy currents to a great extent. The back iron jacket (18) has a high magnetic conductivity with a small wall thickness, thus increasing the electrical output for a motor with a small diameter.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 16, 2020Publication date: May 13, 2021Applicant: Abiomed Europe GmbhInventors: Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Publication number: 20210113825Abstract: An intravascular blood pump having a rotatable shaft carrying an impeller and a housing with an opening through which the shaft extends with the impeller positioned outside the housing. The shaft and the housing have surfaces forming a circumferential gap which has a gap width of no more than 2 ?m over at least part of the length of the gap and at least one of the surfaces forming the gap is made of a material having a thermal conductivity of at least 100 W/mK, in particular a ceramic material such as silicon carbide.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 21, 2019Publication date: April 22, 2021Inventors: Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess, Wolfgang Kerkhoffs
-
Publication number: 20210015981Abstract: An intravascular blood pump having a rotatable shaft carrying an impeller and a housing with an opening through which the shaft extends with the impeller positioned outside the housing. The shaft and the housing have surfaces forming a circumferential gap which converges towards the impeller-side end of the gap and which has a minimum gap width of preferably no more than 5 ?m, more preferably no more than 2 ?m.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 21, 2019Publication date: January 21, 2021Inventors: Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess, Wolfgang Kerkhoffs
-
Publication number: 20210001027Abstract: An intravascular blood pump comprises a pumping device including an impeller and an electric motor for driving the impeller. A rotor of the electric motor is rotatable about an axis of rotation and coupled to the impeller so as to be able to cause rotation of the impeller. An outer sleeve forms a casing of the pumping device, wherein stator components are fixed inside the outer sleeve by means of a casting compound. In a method of manufacturing the blood pump the stator components are placed on a molding base, including the outer sleeve to thereby form an interspace between the molding base and the outer sleeve in which the stator components are disposed. The casting compound is then injected into the interspace via the molding base to fix the stator components inside the outer sleeve. The outer sleeve preferably comprises a magnetically conductive material to form a yoke of the electric motor.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 22, 2019Publication date: January 7, 2021Inventors: Frank Kirchhoff, Josef Penners, Thorsten Siess, Werner Carell, Wolfgang Kerkhoffs
-
Patent number: 10881845Abstract: A sheath for producing a fully sealed access to the interior of a vessel of an animal or human body comprises a base sheath having a tubular body defining a pass-through channel. The base sheath is adapted to be inserted into the vessel through a vessel aperture. A wall of the tubular body of the base sheath has a through channel. This channel extends in the wall from the distal end towards the proximal end. The channel can be present separately from the pass-through channel of the base sheath or can form a sideways extension of the pass-through channel, at least at the distal end. Such through channel is adapted to conduct blood from the vessel to the proximal end of the sheath when the sheath has been inserted into a vessel.Type: GrantFiled: July 6, 2015Date of Patent: January 5, 2021Assignee: ABIOMED EUROPE GMBHInventors: Thorsten Siess, Christoph Nix, Frank Kirchhoff, Patrick Hunziker
-
Patent number: 10808704Abstract: The invention relates to a micromotor (10), the stator of which contains a back iron jacket (18). Said back iron jacket consists of a continuous unslotted sleeve consisting of a metal alloy that contains ferritic iron as the main constituent, up to 30% chromium and preferably aluminium and yttrium oxide. Electric conductivity is reduced by the oxidation of the aluminium. The yttrium oxide performs the same function. The reduced electric conductivity suppresses eddy currents to a great extent. The back iron jacket (18) has a high magnetic conductivity with a small wall thickness, thus increasing the electrical output for a motor with a small diameter.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2008Date of Patent: October 20, 2020Assignee: ABIOMED EUROPE GMBHInventors: Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Publication number: 20200324034Abstract: A sheath assembly for the insertion of a percutaneous pump includes a tubular sheath body dimensioned for insertion into a blood vessel through a vessel aperture. The tubular sheath body includes a wall having a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, a longitudinal axis, an outer surface, an inner surface defining a first lumen substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and a second lumen disposed within the wall between the inner surface and the outer surface and extending from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion. The first lumen is dimensioned to allow passage of a portion of the percutaneous pump, and the second lumen is dimensioned for passage of a guidewire. A stylet is removably positioned to substantially occlude the second lumen. The stylet has a proximal end releasably secured to the sheath assembly.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 22, 2020Publication date: October 15, 2020Inventors: Scott C. Corbett, Glen Fantuzzi, John Murphy, Frank Kirchhoff, David Brousseau, Thorsten Siess
-
Publication number: 20200261633Abstract: An intravascular blood pump having a drive section (11), a catheter (14) fastened to the drive section proximally and a pump section (12) fastened to the drive section distally possesses an electric motor (21) whose motor shaft (25) is mounted in the drive section (11) with two radial sliding bearings (27, 31) and an axial sliding bearing (40). During operation, purge fluid is conveyed through the bearing gap of the axial sliding bearing (40) and further through the radial sliding bearing (31) at the distal end of the drive section (11). The purge fluid is highly viscous, for example 20% glucose solution.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2020Publication date: August 20, 2020Inventors: Gerd Spanier, Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess, Dirk Michels
-
Patent number: 10737008Abstract: A sheath assembly for the insertion of a percutaneous pump includes a tubular sheath body dimensioned for insertion into a blood vessel through a vessel aperture. The tubular sheath body includes a wall having a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, a longitudinal axis, an outer surface, an inner surface defining a first lumen substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, and a second lumen disposed within the wall between the inner surface and the outer surface and extending from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion. The first lumen is dimensioned to allow passage of a portion of the percutaneous pump, and the second lumen is dimensioned for passage of a guidewire. A stylet is removably positioned to substantially occlude the second lumen. The stylet has a proximal end releasably secured to the sheath assembly.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 2015Date of Patent: August 11, 2020Assignee: Abiomed, Inc.Inventors: Scott C. Corbett, Glen Robert Fantuzzi, John Murphy, Frank Kirchhoff, David Brousseau, Thorsten Siess
-
Publication number: 20200222608Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed including: an intracardiac pump device having a path for a guidewire extending through the pump device from a first opening to a second opening; and a lumen which extends from a first end located outside of the pump device, into the pump device through the first opening in the pump device, along the path for the guidewire, out of the pump device through the second opening, and to a second end located outside of the pump device. The lumen is configured to receive the guidewire such that when the guidewire passes through the lumen from the first end to the second end, the guidewire is positioned along the path.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 26, 2020Publication date: July 16, 2020Inventors: Caitlyn Hastie, Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess
-
Publication number: 20200155739Abstract: An intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion comprises a catheter (10) and a pumping device (1) attached to the catheter (10). The catheter (10) extends along a longitudinal axis and has a distal end (11) and a proximal end (12) opposite the distal end (11). The catheter (10) comprises an elongate stiffening structure (15) extending continuously longitudinally along the length of the catheter (10) between the proximal end (11) and the distal end (12) of the catheter (10). The stiffening structure (15) may comprise a shape-memory material, such as Nitinol. It may be in the form of a wire that extends loosely through the lumen of the catheter and helps to avoid or significantly reduce kinks in the catheter.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 3, 2018Publication date: May 21, 2020Inventors: Thorsten Siess, Frank Kirchhoff
-
Patent number: 10617808Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed including: an intracardiac pump device having a path for a guidewire extending through the pump device from a first opening to a second opening; and a lumen which extends from a first end located outside of the pump device, into the pump device through the first opening in the pump device, along the path for the guidewire, out of the pump device through the second opening, and to a second end located outside of the pump device. The lumen is configured to receive the guidewire such that when the guidewire passes through the lumen from the first end to the second end, the guidewire is positioned along the path.Type: GrantFiled: August 2, 2017Date of Patent: April 14, 2020Assignee: ABIOMED, INC.Inventors: Caitlyn Hastie, Frank Kirchhoff, Thorsten Siess