MEDICAL BLOOD-TREATING APPARATUS FOR THE EXTRA-CORPOREAL TREATMENT OF BLOOD

• US 20110022103A1
• Filed: 06/14/2008
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care AG)
• Original Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care AG)
• Inventors: Schrörs, Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 9,132,218 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/3
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 39/002 Using electric currents electrotherapy A61N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/16 with membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/34 Filtering material out of the blood by passing it through a membrane, i.e. hemofiltration or diafiltration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/341 by measuring the filtrate rate or volume
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3413 Diafiltration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/36 Other treatment of blood in a by-pass of the natural circulatory system, e.g. temperature adaptation, irradiation ; Extra-corporeal blood circuits
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/054 with electrotherapy
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36003 of motor muscles, e.g. for walking assistance
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36017 with leads or electrodes penetrating the skin

Abstract

A medical blood-treating apparatus for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood has an extra-corporeal blood circuit. An arrangement for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood and an arrangement for electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) with which muscles of the patient can be stimulated in a targeted fashion during the dialysis treatment are provided. For this purpose, the arrangement for EMS has a means of generating electrical pulses, and has one or more electrodes connected to the means of generating electrical pulses. To enable targeted stimulation, the electrodes are applied to the patient'"'"'s skin, e.g., the legs, during the blood treatment. Muscle stimulation during blood treatment may result in the dialysis treatment being more tolerable for the patient and increase the efficiency of the blood treatment. The blood-treating apparatus according to the invention allows an improvement in the efficiency of the blood treatment without any active sporting activity or exercise by the patient.

Claims

1. to 19. (canceled)

20. A medical blood-treatment apparatus, comprising:

an extra-corporeal blood treatment device; and

an electrical muscle stimulation device having an electrical pulse generator and one or more electrodes connected to the electrical pulse generator.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein

the extra-corporeal blood treatment device has an input unit configured to receive an input of parameters relevant to the blood treatment, and a control and/or regulating unit configured to at least one of control and/or regulate components for at least one of a) performing the blood treatment b) monitoring parameters relevant to the blood treatment,

the electrical muscle stimulation device has a control and/or regulating unit configured to control and/or regulate the electrical pulse generator, and

the control and/or regulating unit for controlling and/or regulating the components for performing and/or monitoring the blood treatment co-operates with the control and/or regulating unit for controlling and/or regulating the electrical pulse generator in such a way that the generation of the electrical pulses can be controlled and/or regulated as a function of the parameters relevant to the blood treatment.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the control and/or regulating unit for controlling and/or regulating the electrical pulse generator is designed so that the shape and/or current intensity and/or amplitude and/or frequency and/or length and/or modulation time of the pulses can be set.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the extra-corporeal blood treatment device and the electrical muscle stimulation device take the form of a one-unit piece of equipment.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the extra-corporeal blood treatment device and the electrical muscle stimulation unit device are two separate pieces of equipment, the extra-corporeal blood treatment device having a communication unit configured to exchange parameters relevant to the blood treatment and the electrical muscle stimulation device having a corresponding communication unit for exchanging parameters relevant to the treatment, the communication units being configured to be connected together for the transmission of the parameters relevant to the treatment.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the communication units are configured to provide unidirectional transmission of data intended for the treatment from the extra-corporeal blood treatment device to the electrical muscle stimulation device.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the communication units are configured to provide unidirectional transmission of data intended for the treatment from the electrical muscle stimulation device to the extra-corporeal blood treatment device.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the communication units are configured to provide bi-directional transmission of data intended for the treatment.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the connection between the communication units is a wired connection.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the connection between the communication units is a non-wired connection.

30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the connection is a radio connection.

31. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein connections for the one or more of the electrodes are incorporated in a patient support structure configured to enable the patient to lie and/or sit down.

32. An arrangement for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood, comprising:

an input unit configured to receive an input of parameters relevant to the blood treatment,

a control and/or regulating unit configured to control and/or regulate components for at least one of a) performing the blood treatment and b) monitoring parameters relevant to the blood treatment; and

a communication unit configured to exchange parameters relevant to the blood treatment with an electrical muscle stimulation device, the electrical muscle stimulation device having an electrical pulse generator and one or more electrodes which are connected to the electrical pulse generator,

the control and/or regulating unit being designed so that the generation of the electrical pulses by the electrical muscle stimulation device can be controlled and/or regulated as a function of the parameters relevant to the blood treatment.

33. The arrangement of claim 32, wherein the communication unit is configured for the unidirectional or bi-directional transmission of treatment data between the electrical muscle stimulation device and the arrangement for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood.

34. The arrangement of claim 32, wherein the communication unit forms a wired data connection with a corresponding communication unit of the electrical muscle stimulation device.

35. The arrangement of claim 32, wherein the communication unit forms a wireless data connection with a corresponding communication unit of the electrical muscle stimulation device.

36. The arrangement of claim 35, wherein the connection is a radio connection.

37. An arrangement for electrical muscle stimulation, comprising:

an electrical pulse generator;

one or more electrodes connected to the electrical pulse generator,

a communication unit configured to exchange parameters relevant to a treatment with an extra-corporeal blood treatment device, the extra-corporeal blood treatment device having a) an input unit configured to receive an input of parameters relevant to the blood treatment and b) a control and/or regulating unit configured to control and/or regulate components for at least one of a) performing the blood treatment and b) monitoring parameters relevant to the blood treatment; and

a control and/or regulating unit configured to control and/or regulate the electrical pulse generator, the electrical pulse generator being designed so that the generation of the electrical pulses can be controlled and/or regulated as a function of the parameters relevant to the blood treatment.

38. The arrangement of claim 37, wherein the communication unit is configured for the unidirectional or bi-directional transmission of treatment data between the arrangement for electrical muscle stimulation and the extra-corporeal blood treatment device.

39. The arrangement of claim 37, wherein the communication unit forms a wired data connection with a corresponding communication unit of the extra-corporeal blood treatment device.

40. The arrangement of claim 37, wherein the communication unit forms a wireless data connection with a corresponding communication unit of the extra-corporeal blood treatment device.

41. The arrangement of claim 40, wherein the connection is a radio connection.

42. A method for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood, in which treatment a patient'"'"'s blood flows, in an extra-corporeal blood circuit, to a blood-treating unit, and blood from the blood-treating unit flows back to the patient, the method comprising:

stimulating the muscles of the patient with electrical pulses during the extra-corporeal blood treatment.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the blood-treating unit is at least one of a dialyzer and a filter.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising setting at least one of a) the shape, b) the current intensity, c) the amplitude, d) the frequency, e) the length, and f) the modulation time of the pulses as a function of parameters relevant to the blood treatment.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the parameters relevant to the blood treatment are preset for the blood treatment.

46. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

monitoring the blood treatment, and

sensing the parameters relevant to the blood treatment.