Patent ID: 7435059

Claim:
A system for pumping blood comprising: a) a rotodynamic pump including: i) a housing defining a chamber and an inlet and outlet in fluid communication with the chamber; and ii) an impeller disposed within the chamber for urging fluid from the inlet toward the outlet; iii) the pump having a performance curve at a nominal operating speed of the pump, the performance curve relating changes in the pressure differential across the pump to changes in flow through the pump; b) a driver for imparting rotational motion to the impeller; c) a power supply for supplying power to the driver; d) a regulator for regulating the power supplied from the power supply to the driver; e) flow limiting characteristics that maintain the flow through the pump within predefined limits throughout a wide range of pressure differentials across the pump, wherein the pump further comprises an axial extension connected to the housing having a conical tip and wherein the impeller comprises a plurality of blades configured to accommodate the conical tip.