Cassette-based dialysis medical fluid therapy systems, apparatuses and methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A peristaltic pump comprising:
- a member that is moved across a section of tubing to compress the tubing and thereby move fluid through the tubing; and
wherein the tubing has a Shore A Hardness in a range of about 50 to about 85 and a tear resistance of about 110 to about 480 in-lb/in.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Improved cassette-based medical fluid therapy systems, apparatuses and methods are provided. In one aspect, various peristaltic pump tubing materials are provided. Cassette and membrane materials, configurations and manufacturing improvements are provided. Various aspects of the invention include: a head height sensing and compensating method and apparatus; an admixing method and apparatus; a pH measuring method and apparatus; an air detecting and removal methods and apparatuses; an active priming apparatus and method; and a volumetric accuracy improvement apparatus and method.
372 Citations
70 Claims
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1. A peristaltic pump comprising:
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a member that is moved across a section of tubing to compress the tubing and thereby move fluid through the tubing; and
wherein the tubing has a Shore A Hardness in a range of about 50 to about 85 and a tear resistance of about 110 to about 480 in-lb/in. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A peristaltic pump comprising:
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a member that is moved across a section of tubing, enabling the tubing to be compressed and expanded, thereby moving fluid through the tubing; and
wherein the tubing exhibits a fluid volume accuracy of at least ninety percent for a fluid having a pH of about 2.0 to about 9.0, and wherein the fluid has been pumped through the tubing from a head height of at least about ±
0.5 meters for at least 12 hours. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A disposable dialysis apparatus comprising:
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a disposable cassette providing at least one flow path, at least one valve chamber in fluid communication with the flow path, and a plurality of ports; and
tubing in fluid communication with the ports, the tubing forming a loop operable with a peristaltic pump, and wherein the tubing has a Shore A Hardness in a range of about fifty to about 85 and a tear resistance of about 110 to about 480 in-lb/in. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A disposable dialysis apparatus comprising:
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a disposable cassette providing;
(i) at least one flow path, (ii) at least one valve chamber in communication with the flow path, (iii) a pair of ports, and (iv) an air trap; and
tubing in fluid communication with the ports, the tubing forming a loop that operates with a peristaltic pump, wherein the pump is operable to pump fluid exiting the cassette, and wherein air from the fluid is collected in the air trap. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A medical fluid apparatus operable with a fluid pump, the apparatus comprising:
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a disposable cassette, the cassette including a body and a flexible membrane, the body and membrane enclosing a chamber in the cassette, the chamber having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;
a pressure sensor coupled operably with a portion of the membrane, so as to sense pressure fluctuations of a fluid flowing through the chamber; and
electronics configured to;
(i) receive a signal from the pressure sensor, the signal indicative of a head height of a patient, and (ii) use the signal to determine a pressure at which to operate the pump. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A medical fluid apparatus comprising:
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a pump driving mechanism;
a pressure sensor; and
electronics configured to (i) receive a signal from the pressure sensor indicative of a head height of a patient and (ii) use the signal to determine an operating level at which to operate the driving mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A medical fluid apparatus operable with a fluid pump that pumps a fluid volume V per pumping increment, the apparatus comprising:
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a mixing chamber;
first and second fluid supplies holding different first and second fluids;
a fluid path having a first end fluidly connected to an inlet of the chamber, the fluid path having a volume P, which is a predetermined portion of the volume V; and
first and second valves placed at a second end of the fluid path and controlling flow of the first and second fluids, the valves alternated so that (i) a volume P of the first fluid is pumped to the flow path and a volume V-P of the first fluid is pumped to the mixing chamber in a first pumping increment and (ii) a volume P of the second fluid is pumped to the flow path and a volume V-P of the second fluid is pumped to the mixing chamber in a second pumping increment. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A medical fluid apparatus comprising:
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a mixing chamber;
first and second fluid supplies holding different first and second fluids, the supplies in fluid communication with the mixing chamber;
a fluid pump; and
first and second valves controlling flow of the first and second liquids, the valves and the pump configured to alternatingly partially fill the chamber with the first fluid and then partially fill the chamber with the second fluid and simultaneously remove some but not all of the first fluid from the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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42. A medical fluid apparatus comprising:
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a rigid body defining multiple flow paths, multiple valve chambers and multiple fluid ports;
a tube connected in a loop with the body, the loop sized to fit around a roller pumping head assembly of a peristaltic pump, the assembly configured to be engaged and positively and abutingly driven by a member moved by a pump motor; and
a flexible membrane sealed and coupled in a tamper proof manner to the body and enclosing the fluid paths and the valve chambers, the seal and coupling made prior to a time when the body is loaded into a pump and valve actuation instrument. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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46. A medical fluid apparatus comprising:
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a disposable cassette defining multiple flow paths, multiple valve chambers and multiple fluid ports;
a supply container connected fluidly to a first one of the fluid ports;
a drain line connected fluidly to a second one of the fluid ports;
a patient fill line connected fluidly to a third one of the fluid ports;
a peristaltic pump configured to pump fluid from the supply bag to the patient fill line or the drain line based on which valve chambers are opened and closed; and
an air sensor positioned relative to the valve chambers so that fluid from the supply container can be diverted to drain instead of being pumped to the patient if air in the fluid is detected by the air sensor. - View Dependent Claims (47)
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48. A medical fluid system comprising:
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a disposable cassette defining multiple flow paths, multiple valve chambers and multiple fluid ports;
a tube connected to one of the fluid ports, the tube including a conductive portion, the conductive portion configured to enable a reading indicative of the pH value of a fluid traveling within the tube to be taken; and
a processor configured to input the reading and determine if the pH value for the fluid is acceptable. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. A medical fluid system comprising:
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a disposable cassette defining multiple flow paths, multiple valve chambers and multiple fluid ports;
a peristaltic pump connected fluidly to the cassette;
a patient line connected to one of the fluid ports;
a patient line holder into which the patient line is placed and held;
a sensor cooperating with the holder to send a signal indicating that;
(i) the patient line has not been placed in the holder, (ii) that the patient line has been placed in the holder and fluid has not yet reached a sensible level, and (iii) that the patient line has been placed in the holder and fluid has reached a sensible level; and
a processor configured to input the signal and make at least one determination based on the signal. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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55. A method of performing a dialysis procedure comprising the steps of:
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installing a disposable cassette so that tubing held by the cassette is operably coupled with a pump head of a pump; and
causing the tubing to be made from a non-silicon material that enables fluid to be pumped by moving the pump head against the tubing at an accuracy of at least ninety percent over the entire dialysis procedure. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59)
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60. A method of performing a dialysis procedure comprising the steps of:
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selecting a desired fluid pressure at the patient;
sensing a pressure at a fluid pump due to a patient'"'"'s head height position relative to the pump;
controlling an output pressure of the pump to compensate for the pressure; and
pumping fluid at the output level to deliver the fluid to the patient at the desired fluid pressure. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62)
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63. A method for performing a dialysis treatment comprising the steps of:
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pumping a first fluid into a mixing chamber;
pumping a second fluid, different from the first fluid, into the mixing chamber and displacing some of the first fluid to produce a first mixture;
pumping the first fluid into the mixing chamber and displacing some of the first mixture to create a second mixture, wherein the second mixture has a proportion of first and second fluids different than that of the first mixture; and
delivering an overall volume of mixed fluid to a patient, the overall volume having at least substantially a desired proportion of first and second fluids to a patient. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A method for improving the volumetric accuracy in a dialysate pumping system, the method comprising the steps of:
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identifying a factor causing volumetric error in pumping dialysate;
isolating the factor and empirically determining a relationship between the factor and volume of dialysate pumped;
determining a constant K for the factor using the empirically determined relationship; and
modifying an overall equation for calculating a volume of dialysate pumped by a product of the constant K and a value for the factor. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70)
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Specification