Abstract:
A test controller and method to operate a rotary motor of a pump are provided. The test controller includes a test speed circuit electrically coupled to, but detachable from, the pump and being configured to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to cause the pump motor to rotate at a predetermined test speed and/or for a predetermined test time. An actuator selectively activates the test speed circuit to operate the pump motor at the predetermined test speed and/or for the predetermined test time. The method includes electrically coupling the test controller to the pump and, in response to selective activation of the actuator, selectively activating the test speed circuit to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to operate the pump motor at a predetermined test speed and/or for a predetermined test time. The method further includes detaching the test controller from the pump.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/304,930, filed on Feb. 16, 2010 (pending), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to testing the operation of a rotary pump. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices and methods for testing the operation of implantable pumps prior to implantation. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Rotary pump devices are often used to assist the blood flow of patients. Typically, these devices are implanted in body of a patient and are supplied power by a separate power supply. Generally, one end of the device is attached to the heart of a patient (through a flexible cannula) while another end is attached to a vein or artery of the patient (also through a flexible cannula). When the pump receives power, it assists in the circulation of blood through the patient by transferring blood from one portion of the patient&#39;s body to another. 
     Prior to implantation of the devices, it is often desirable to visually confirm the operation of the device, despite the high levels of quality control that is implemented by device manufacturers to ensure device reliability. As such, users may attempt to connect the devices to their power supply. Thus, the devices are run at their predetermined operating speed “dry” (e.g., without any fluid moving through the device) which can result in accelerated wear of the device due to increased friction. To counteract this problem, some users may insert the device into a sterile fluid bath, but these sterile fluid baths can result in an increased risk of infection to a patient. 
     Furthermore, the devices often use sensorless speed control methodologies to maintain their speed independent of their load. In particular, reverse electromotive force methodologies (e.g., “back-EMF” methodologies) are often used to maintain the commutation of a brushless motor in the device at a predetermined operating speed. However, to test the devices, the user may not provide enough power for the devices to properly utilize back-EMF methodologies. For example, at a reduced voltage to reduce the speed at which the devices operate, there is often not enough back-EMF generated by the pump motor to maintain speed control, which may result in a pump motor stoppage (resulting in a false device failure diagnosis) or pump motor overspeed (resulting in possible device damage). 
     There is thus a need for an improved method of testing rotary pump devices for visual verification of their operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention include a test controller for operating a rotary pump motor of a pump, the rotary pump motor having a predetermined operating speed. The test controller includes a test speed circuit electrically coupled to, but detachable from, the pump and being configured to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to cause the pump motor to rotate at a predetermined test speed that is lower than the predetermined operating speed of the pump motor. The test controller further includes an actuator configured to selectively activate the test speed circuit to operate the pump motor to rotate at the predetermined test speed. 
     Alternative embodiments of the present invention include a test controller for operating a rotary pump motor of a pump having a predetermined operating speed. The test controller includes a test speed circuit electrically coupled to, but detachable from, the pump and being configured to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to cause the pump motor to rotate for a predetermined test time. The test controller further includes an actuator configured to selectively activate the test speed circuit to operate the pump motor for the predetermined test time. 
     One alternative embodiment of the present invention includes a method for testing the operation of a rotary pump motor of a pump with a test controller, the test controller including a test speed circuit and an actuator. The method includes electrically coupling the test controller to the pump and, in response to selective activation of the actuator, selectively activating the test speed circuit to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to cause the pump motor to rotate at a predetermined test speed that is lower than a predetermined operating speed of the pump motor. The method further includes detaching the test controller from the pump. 
     Another alternative embodiment of the present invention includes a method for testing the operation of a rotary pump motor of a pump with a test controller, the test controller including a test time circuit and an actuator. The method includes electrically coupling the test controller to the pump and, in response to selective activation of the actuator, selectively activating the test time circuit to apply at least one signal to the pump motor to cause the pump motor to rotate for a predetermined test time that is less than a normal operating time for the pump motor. The method further includes detaching the test controller from the pump. 
     These and other advantages will be apparent in light of the following figures and detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an exemplary illustration of a circulatory assist system that includes a rotary pump device, power supply, and test controller consistent with embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of the internal components of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of a power circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of a power indicator circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of an activation circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of a voltage regulation circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of a switching circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of a conditioning circuit of the test controller of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of embodiments of the invention. The specific design features of embodiments of the invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, connections to circuitry, and shapes of various illustrated components, as well as specific sequences of operations (e.g., including concurrent and/or sequential operations), will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments may have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Turning to the drawings, wherein like notations denote like parts,  FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an implantable rotary pump device  10  (hereinafter, “pump”  10 ) having a rotary pump motor  12  (hereinafter, “pump motor”  12 ) and impeller  14 . The implantable pump  10  includes an input port  16  to which a flexible input cannula body  18  may be connected to input fluid to the pump  10 , as well as an output port  20  to which a flexible output cannula body  22  may be connected to output fluid from the pump  10 . A cable  24  extends from the pump  10  to supply power to the pump from either a pump power supply  26  or a pump test controller  28 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the pump  10  receives power through the cable  24  from the pump test controller  28 , which in turn receives power from the power supply  26  through a cable  30 . When implanted into a patient&#39;s body and receiving power directly from the power supply  26 , the pump motor  12  is configured to operate from about 20,000 rotations per minute to about 28,000 rotations per minute. As such, and in some embodiments, the pump  10  is a Synergy® Pocket Micro-Pump commercially available from CircuLite, Inc., of Saddle Brook, N.J. 
     The pump test controller  28  (hereinafter, “controller”  28 ) is configured to selectively activate the pump  10  and rotate the pump motor  12  at a low speed and/or for limited time intervals such that a user can visually confirm operation of the pump  10  prior to implantation. Thus, the controller  28  includes an actuator  32  to actuate the operation of the pump  10  as well as a controller power indicator  34  to indicate when the controller  28  receives power and a pump power indicator  36  to indicate when the controller  28  is providing power to the pump  10 . 
       FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic illustration of one embodiment of internal components of the controller  28 . The controller  28  includes a power circuit  38  that conditions power from the power supply  26  and converts at least a portion of the power to a direct current power signal to operate the circuitry of the controller  28 .  FIG. 3  is an illustration of one embodiment of the power circuit  38  that includes an inductor  40  that filters artifacts in power signals from the power supply  26  and that is coupled to a capacitor  42  and fuse  44 . The capacitor  42  is coupled to ground and configured to allow alternating current signals from the power supply  26  to proceed to ground, while the fuse  44  is configured to prevent damage to the controller  28  in response to over-voltage or over-current power signals from the power supply  26 . At the output of fuse  44 , the power circuit  38  provides direct current power (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “DC+”) for the controller  28  and is tied to a diode  46  as well as capacitors  48  and  50 , capacitors  48  and  50  being configured in parallel and coupled to ground. Diode  46  is a voltage regulation diode, while capacitors  48  and  50  are configured to allow alternating current signals from the fuse  44  to proceed to ground. In specific embodiments, the inductor  40  has a resistance value of about 33 Ω at 100 MHz (about 0.008 Ω at zero Hz) and a current limit of about 4 A, the capacitor  42  has a value of about 100 nF, the capacitors  48  and  50  have a value of about 1 μf, the fuse  44  is a resettable fuse having a trip value of about 1.3 A, and the diode  44  has a value of about 22V and power limit of about 3 W. In further specific embodiments, the inductor  40  is a wide-band SMD ferrite bead, such as a WE-CBF 0805 4A 0R008 chip-inductor commercially available from Wurth Elektronik of Waldenburg, Germany. 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , the power circuit  38  is configured to provide power to a power indicator circuit  52  that, in turn, is configured to activate the controller power indicator  34  when the controller  28  receives power from the power supply  26 .  FIG. 4  is an illustration of one embodiment of the power indicator circuit  52 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the power indicator circuit  52  receives the DC+ signal from the power circuit  38  and couples that signal to a capacitor  54  and a voltage regulator  56 . The voltage regulator  56 , in turn, regulates the DC+ signal and provide an output of 5V (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “+5V”). The output of the voltage regulator  56  is further coupled to another capacitor  57  and the controller power indicator  34 . In specific embodiments, the voltage regulator  56  is an LM7B05 positive voltage regulator commercially available from Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation of South Portland, Me., and each of the capacitors  54  and  57  have a value of about 100 nF. As such, when power is provided to the controller  28  from the power supply  26 , the power indicator circuit  52  is configured to activate the controller power indicator  34 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , the power indicator circuit  52  is further coupled to an activation circuit  58  that activates the pump power indicator  36  in response to actuation of the actuator  32 .  FIG. 5  is an illustration of one embodiment of the activation circuit  58 . Specifically, the activation circuit  58  is configured with a monostable multivibrator  60  that receives a +5V signal from the power indicator circuit  52  on a positive edge trigger input of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  2 ) and an inverted ground signal on a negative edge trigger input of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  1 ). Additionally, a +5V signal is coupled to a capacitor  62  and a resistor  64 . One output from resistor  64  is coupled to a capacitor  66 , while another output from the resistor  64  is coupled directly to an external resistor input of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  15 ). The output of capacitor  66  is coupled to an external capacitor input of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  14 ). The multivibrator  60  is further coupled to the actuator  32  through a first n-channel EMFET  68  (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “N-EMFET 1 ”  68 ). In particular, the output of the actuator  32  is coupled to the drain of N-EMFET 1   68 , while the source is coupled to ground. The gate of N-EMFET 1   68  is coupled to a capacitor  70 , a resistor  72 , and a resistor  74 , all of which are in parallel. The gate of the N-EMFET 1   68  is further coupled to an inverted reset low input of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  3 ) and the drain of a p-channel EMFET  76  (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “P-EMFET”  76 ). In turn, the source of P-EMFET  76  is coupled to a +5V signal and the gate is coupled to a resistor  78  and capacitor  80 . The resistor  78  is coupled between the source of P-EMFET  76  and the gate of P-EMFET  76 , while the capacitor  80  is coupled to ground. 
     Thus, the multivibrator  60  is configured to detect actuation of the actuator  32  and provide a power signal to the pump power indicator  36 , as well as selectively activate the pump motor  12  for a period of time from about four to about six seconds. As such, an active high output of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  13 ) is coupled to the gate of a second n-channel EMFET  82  (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “N-EMFET 2  ”  82 ). The source of N-EMFET 2   82  is coupled to ground, while the drain of N-EMFET 2   82  is configured to be coupled to a voltage regulation circuit  84 . An inverted active low output of the multivibrator  60  (e.g., pin  4 ) is configured to provide power to the pump power indicator  36  when the pump motor  12  is supplied power through a resistor  86 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in specific embodiments, the monostable multivibrator  60  is a 74AHC123 dual retriggerable monostable multivibrator with reset as manufactured by NXP Semiconductor of the Netherlands. Also in specific embodiments N-EMFET 1   68  and N-EMFET 2   82  are each BSS 123  n-channel EMFETs commercially available from Fairchild Semiconductor, while P-EMFET  76  is a BSS 84  p-channel EMFET also commercially available from Fairchild Semiconductor. In further specific embodiments, the resistor  64  has a value of about 121 kΩ, the resistors  72  and  74  each have a value of about 21 kΩ, the resistor  78  has a value of about 10 kΩ, the resistor  86  has a value of about 1 kΩ, the capacitor  62  has a value of about 100 nF, the capacitors  66  and  70  each have a value of about 22 μF, and the capacitor  80  has a value of about 10 nF 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the power circuit  38  is coupled to the voltage regulation circuit  84 , which is in turn coupled to the activation circuit  58  and the actuator  32 .  FIG. 6  is an illustration of one embodiment of the voltage regulation circuit  84 . Specifically, the voltage regulation circuit  84  is configured with a pair of p-channel MOSFETS  88  and  90  (illustrated as, and hereinafter, “P-MOSFET 1 ”  88  and “P-MOSFET 2 ”  90 ). The DC+ from the power circuit  38  is coupled to a resistor  92  and a diode  94  in parallel. The DC+ is further coupled, through three parallel leads, to the source of P-MOSFET 1   88 . Additionally, the output from the actuator  32  is coupled, through a resistor  96 , to the other end of the resistor  92 , the input of diode  94 , and the gate of P-MOSFETI  88 . In turn, the drain of P-MOSFET 1   88  is coupled to resistor  98  and diode  100  in parallel. The drain of P-MOSFET 1   88  is further coupled, through three parallel leads, to the source of P-MOSFET 2   90 . Additionally, the signal from the activation circuit  58  is coupled, through resistor  102 , to the other end of the resistor  98 , the input of diode  100 , and the gate of P-MOSFET 2   90 . The drain of P-MOSFET 2   90  is then coupled to a capacitor  104 , then output to a switching circuit  106 . In specific embodiments, each resistor  92  and  98  has a value of about 22kΩ, each resistor  96  and  102  has a value of about 3kΩ, each diode  94  and  100  is a BZX 284  series diode such as those commercially available from NXP, and each P-MOSFET  88  and  90  is an Si 7415 DN series p-channel  60 -V MOSFET commercially available from Vishay Americas of Shelton, Conn. 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , the switching circuit  106  is configured to transform a signal received from the voltage regulation circuit  84  into a signal appropriate for a controller motor  108 .  FIG. 7  is an illustration of one embodiment of the switching circuit  106  that includes a switching regulator  110  configured as a boost, or step-up regulator. Focusing on the inputs to the switching regulator, a voltage input of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  8 ) is coupled to the voltage regulation circuit  84 . Additionally, a corrective input of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  1 ) is coupled to a resistor  112  configured as a feedback resistor from a collector output of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  6 ) in parallel with a resistor  114 . An oscillator input of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  3 ) is connected to a capacitor  116  in parallel with a series combination of a capacitor  118  and a resistor  120 . The capacitor  116  and series combination of capacitor  118  and resistor  120  are further in parallel with a capacitor  122  connected to ground. Furthermore, the opposite ends of the capacitor  116  and series combination of capacitor  118  and  120  are coupled to the parallel resistors  112  and  114 . A ground input of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  4 ) is connected to a ground. 
     Focusing on the outputs of the switching regulator  110 , the collector output of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  6 ) is coupled to an inductor  124  and a diode  126 . The output of the inductor  124  is in turn coupled to the DC_DC_IN input. With regard to the emitter and current limit of the switching regulator  118  (e.g., pins  5  and  7 , respectively), these are tied together as well as to a resister  127 , which in turn is tied to ground. 
     The output of  126  is coupled to a capacitor  128  in parallel with a capacitor  130 , both of which are tied to ground. The output of diode  126  is also coupled to the output of a diode  132  (whose input is tied to ground) as well as the resistor  112  that is coupled to the corrective input of the switching regulator  110  (e.g., pin  1 ). In addition, the output of diode  132  is coupled to two resistors  134  and  136  configured in series. The output of the resistors  134  and  136  is coupled to an inductor  138  and a capacitor tied  140  tied to ground. The output of the inductor  138  is in turn tied to another capacitor  142  as well as to the controller motor  108 . In specific embodiments, the switching regulator  110  is an LM3578A series switching regulator commercially available from National Semiconductor of Santa Clara, Calif., the resistors  112  and  120  each have a value of about 200 kΩ, the resistor  114  has a value of about, the resistor  127  has a value of about 0 Ω, the resistors  134  and  136  each have a value of about 120 Ω, the capacitor  116  has a value of about 22 pF, the capacitor  118  has a value of about 33 nF, the capacitor  122  has a value of about 1 nF, the capacitor  128  has a value of about 10 μF, the capacitor  130  has a value of about 10 nF, the capacitor  140  has a value of about 100 nF, the capacitor  142  has a value of about 470 pF, the inductor  124  has a value of about 330 μH, the inductor  138  has a resistance value of about 33 Ω at 100 MHz (about 0.008 Ω at zero Hz) and a current limit of about 4 A, the diode  126  is a BZX284 series diode, and the diode  132  has a value of about 22V and power limit of about 3 W. In further specific embodiments, the inductor  138  is a WE-CBF 0805 4A 0R008 chip-inductor similarly to inductor  40  of  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , an output  144  from the switching circuit  106  is coupled to the controller motor  108 . The controller motor  108 , in turn, is coupled to a first gearbox  146  which is mechanically coupled to a second gearbox  148  in turn coupled to a generator  150 . The generator  150  is configured to provide three output lines  152 ,  154 , and  156  to the pump motor  12  to provide respective “U,” “V,” and “W” phases for the pump motor  12 . In specific embodiments, the controller motor  108  is an F 2140 series 40 mm graphite brushless DC motor commercially available from Maxon Precision Motors, Inc., of Fall River, Mass. In further specific embodiments, each of the gearboxes  146  and  148  are planetary gearheads series 16 A, 16 mm, also commercially available from Maxon, while the generator  150  is an EC 16 series 16 mm brushless EC motor, also commercially available from Maxon. 
     In the controller  28 , each of the phases for the pump motor  12  on the output lines  152 ,  154 , and  156  is conditioned by a respective conditioning circuit  158   a - c .  FIG. 8  is an illustration of one embodiment of a conditioning circuit  158  that is used to condition a signal to the pump motor  12 . Specifically, the input to the conditioning circuit  158  is a phase from the generator  150 , which is coupled to a capacitor  160 . The capacitor  160 , in turn, is coupled to one resistor  162  coupled to the DC_DC_IN signal and one resistor  164  coupled to ground. The conditioning circuit  158  includes an operational amplifier  166 , the positive input of which is coupled to the output of capacitor  160 , the resistor  162  coupled to the DC_DC_IN signal, and the resistor  162  coupled to ground. The negative input of the amplifier  166  is coupled to the output of a series combination of a resistor  168  and a capacitor  170 . The negative input of the amplifier  166  is further coupled to a capacitor  172  in parallel with a resistor  174 . The output of the amplifier  166  is coupled to the input of a first diode  176 , whose output is coupled to the input of a second diode  178 . The output of the second diode  178  is, in turn, coupled to a resistor  180  tied to ground. Returning to the output of the amplifier  166 , the output is also tied to a resistor  182  which is configured in parallel to a resistor  184  coupled to the output of the second diode  178 . In turn, the resistors  182  and  184  are connected in parallel to the base of a first PNP transistor  186 . The emitter of the first PNP transistor  186  is coupled to a resistor  188 , which in turn is coupled to the parallel combination of the capacitor  172  and resistor  174  coupled to the negative input of the amplifier  166 . The collector of the first PNP transistor  186 , however, is tied to the base of a second PNP transistor  190 . The emitter of the second PNP transistor  190  is coupled to a resistor  192 , the resistor  192  being further coupled to the parallel combination of the capacitor  172  and resistor  174  coupled to the negative input of the amplifier  166 . 
     The output of the amplifier  166  is also coupled to a resistor  194  that is coupled to the base of a first NPN transistor  196 . The collector of the first NPN transistor  196  is coupled to a resistor  198 . The resistor  198  is in turn coupled to the DC_DC_IN signal and the collector of a second NPN transistor  200 . Returning to the first NPN transistor  196 , the emitter of the first NPN transistor  196  is coupled to the base of the second NPN transistor  200 . The emitter of the second NPN transistor  200  is coupled, through a resistor  202 , to the parallel combination of capacitor  172  and resistor  174  coupled to the negative input of the amplifier  166 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the parallel combination of capacitor  172  and resistor  174  coupled to the negative input of the amplifier  166  is further coupled to two resistors  204  and  206  in series. The output of the resistors  204  and  206 , in turn, is coupled to a capacitor  208  tied to ground and an inductor  210 . The inductor  210  is coupled, in parallel, to capacitor  212  tied to ground and the output of a diode  214  (the input being tied to ground). The inductor  210  is further tied to the U, V, or W phase of the pump motor  12 . 
     In specific embodiments, the amplifier  166  is an AD824 series single supply, low power, FET-input op-amp commercially available from Analog Devices of Norwood, Mass. In further specific embodiments, the resistors  162 ,  164 , and  174  each have a value of about 100 kΩ, the resistors  168 ,  188 , and  198  each have a value of about 21 kΩ, the resistor  180  has a value of about 4 kΩ, the resistors  182 ,  184 , and  194  each have a value of about 100 Ω, the resistors  192  and  202  each have a value of about 0 Ω, and the resistors  204  and  206  are each 4R7-5W series axial wirewound resistors. In specific embodiments, the capacitor  160  has a value of about 10 μF, the capacitor  170  has a value of about 4 μF, the capacitor  172  has a value of about 1 nF, the capacitor  208  has a value of about 47 μF, and the capacitor  212  has a value of about 100 nF. In specific embodiments, the ferrite bead  210  is a WE-CBF 0805 4A 0R008 chip-inductor similarly to inductor  40  of  FIG. 3  and inductor  138  of  FIG. 7 , while the diodes  176  and  178  are each BAV 99  series diodes commercially available from Fairchild Semiconductor and the diode  214  is a D402 series Zener diode. 
     When in use, an operator coupled the controller  28  to the pump  10  as well as to the power supply  26 . When the controller  28  is supplied power, the controller power indicator  52  will be activated. When the user actuates the actuator  32 , the controller transforms a power signal from the power supply  26  into a plurality of signals for the pump motor  12 . Specifically, the controller  28  is configured to operate the pump motor  12  from a speed of about 780 RPM to about 1,180 RPM, whereas during normal operation the pump motor  12  is configured to operate at a speed from about 20,000 RPM to a speed of about 28,000 RPM. Moreover, the controller  28  is configured to provide enough power to the pump motor  12  such that the pump motor  12  can utilize back-EMF control methodologies without causing the pump motor  12  to stop or suffer from overspeed. Thus, the user can visually verify the operation of the pump  10  without utilizing a sterile bath. 
     The controller  28  is configured to transform power from the power supply  26  for the pump  10  for a period of time from about four to about six seconds. Specifically, the controller  28  is configured to provide power to the pump  10  when the actuator  32  is continuously actuated, but for no more than that period of time. Alternatively, the controller  28  can be configured to provide power to the pump  10  for that period of time in response to a momentary actuation of the actuator  32 . When the controller  28  provides power to the pump  10 , the pump power indicator  34  is activated. After the user has completed their inspection, the user can detach the controller  28  from the pump  10  and the power supply  26 . 
     While embodiments of the present invention has been illustrated by a description of the various embodiments and the examples, and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Thus, embodiments of the present invention in broader aspects are therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants&#39; general inventive concept.