Patent ID: 7861582

Claim:
A method of estimating a flow rate Q of an objective blood pump, which discharges blood using a rotational force of a motor as a driving power source, based on a rotational speed N of the motor, a consumption current I of the motor, and attribute data Z of blood of a patient, the method comprising: a first step of obtaining flow rate estimation information which describes a relationship among the rotational speed of the motor, the consumption current of the motor and the flow rate of the objective blood pump, and the attribute data of a test liquid or blood; and a second step of estimating the flow rate Q of the objective blood pump based on the flow rate estimation information and the values of N, I and Z which are obtained by measuring the rotational speed N and the consumption current I of the motor in the objective blood pump, which is implanted inside the body of the patient, and the attribute data Z of the blood of the patient, wherein the first step includes: a step which forms general flow rate estimation information including correction information by measuring flow rates of a plurality of blood pumps using a flow meter when rotational speeds and consumption currents of motors in the respective blood pumps, and the attribute data of the test liquid are respectively changed, and a step in which the rotational speed and the consumption current of the motor in the objective blood pump and the attribute data of the test liquid are measured, the flow rate of the objective blood pump is measured using a flow meter, and the flow rate estimation information on the objective blood pump is formed based on the general flow rate estimation information by substituting the obtained measured data into the correction information.