Patent ID: 8449444

Claim:
A blood pump system, comprising: a blood pump having an inflow conduit for receiving blood from a left ventricle of a heart and an outflow conduit for returning blood to a circulatory system; and a controller operably connected to the blood pump; wherein the inflow conduit comprises a first sensor located on or within the inflow conduit, the first sensor being located to detect an inflow conduit pressure that is substantially the same as left ventricular pressure, wherein the first sensor is configured to send a signal regarding the inflow conduit pressure to the controller, wherein said outflow conduit comprises a second sensor located on or within the inflow conduit, the second sensor being located to detect an outflow conduit pressure that is substantially the same as arterial pressure, wherein the second sensor is configured to send a signal regarding the outflow conduit pressure to the controller, and wherein the controller is configured to: calculate blood flow through the blood pump; and periodically reduce the flow of blood through the blood pump based on the inflow conduit pressure and the outflow conduit pressure to cause the inflow conduit pressure to be substantially equal to or greater than the outflow conduit pressure.