Preclinical evaluation of the Kyocera Gyro centrifugal blood pump for cardiopulmonary bypass

The Kyocera Gyro pump has been developed as a completely seal-less centrifugal pump to overcome the problems of the conventional centrifugal pumps. The Gyro pump is a double pivot bearing-supported centrifugal pump with several specific design features, including its eccentric inlet port. We investigated the feasibility of the Gyro pump for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in a bovine model, comparing it with the BioMedicus pump (BP-80). Ten healthy calves (5: Gyro pump, 5: BP-80) underwent 6 h of mildly hypothermic CPB at approximately 33°C. Both pumps provided more than 50 ml/kg/min without any incidents. The haemodynamics of both groups remained stable within the normal range. All haematology and biochemistry data demonstrated no significant differences between the two groups. However, values of plasma-free haemoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase were less throughout the experiments of the Gyro pump than those of the BP-80. To obtain flow equivalent to that of the BP-80, the Gyro pump needed less rotational speeds than the BP-80 (2749.7 ± 233.3 versus 3170.6 ± 300.8 rpm, p < 0.05). Less rotational speed in addition to the difference in operating principle may contribute to less blood damage during the CPB of the Gyro pump. After pumping for CPB, no leakage or thrombus formation was observed in either pump. The present study indicated that the Kyocera Gyro pump can be applied as a centrifugal pump for CPB with the same performance as the BP-80 and with relatively less haemolysis than the BP-80.