Patent ID: 8562508

Claim:
A blood pump system, comprising: a first implantable housing including a rechargeable power storage device that is configured to supply electrical power for the normal operation of an implantable blood pump for a period of time of at least 30 minutes; an implantable blood pump independent from the first implantable housing that is configured to supplement the pumping function of a heart, wherein the rechargeable power storage device is configured to supply electrical power to the implantable blood pump; pump controller circuitry that controls the operation of the blood pump, wherein the pump controller circuitry is in the first implantable housing or in another implantable housing and the rechargeable power storage device supplies electrical power to the pump controller circuitry; and a percutaneous extension, coupled to the rechargeable power storage device and configured to traverse the skin, that is configured to releasably connect to an external power supply, wherein the power supply is configured to provide power configured to recharge or supplement the rechargeable power storage device to power the implantable blood pump such that when the percutaneous extension is released from the external power supply, the user is free of components external to the body except for the percutaneous extension extending from the body for a period of time of at least 30 minutes.