Mechanical Blood-Immersed Bearings in Continuous-Flow Rotary Blood Pumps

Mechanical blood-immersed bearings have been used in many continuous-flow rotary blood pumps to reduce friction between relatively moving parts, but their use has been associated with a significant incidence of pump thrombosis. As newer cardiac assist devices with more advanced bearings become available, the rate of pump thrombosis will likely decrease. Nevertheless, it is important to understand the design limitations of mechanical bearings as pumps utilizing them are still in use as chronic support devices and especially in the acute setting for temporary support devices. A properly designed journal bearing should support the spinning rotor with no surface-to-surface contact between the bearing and journal surfaces. The journal continuously undergoes orbital motion within the bearing, which can be "stable" or "unstable." Unstable orbital motion causes the journal to move progressively off-center until it collides with the bearing, and even minor variations in manufacturing can create off-design operation and dynamic instability of the journal. Since blood is the lubricant in most clinically-used rotary blood pumps, lubricant viscosity can vary abruptly in response to changes in hematocrit or plasma protein concentration. Additionally, shear stress from the high-speed rotor can cause hemolysis and plasma protein denaturation. We reviewed theoretical design and operating principles of mechanical bearings and discuss why the phenomenon of mechanical bearing thrombosis may be an inherent design issue dependent on variables that are beyond the control of clinicians.