Artificial replacement kidney implant and method of dialyzing blood

• US 4,769,037 A
• Filed: 10/28/1986
• Issued: 09/06/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert J. Midcalf
• Original Assignee: Robert J. Midcalf
• Inventors: Midcalf, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): FRINKS, RONALD
• Application Number:
  US06/924,059
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 623/11, 623/12, 623/66, 604/5, 604/29, 128/DIG. 3
• US Class Current: 623/23.65
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1678 intracorporal peritoneal dialysis A61M1/28
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/34 Filtering material out of the blood by passing it through a membrane, i.e. hemofiltration or diafiltration

Abstract

An artifical replacement kidney implant for dializing blood within a human body comprising at least one blood panel having an inlet for coupling to the artery of a body and an outlet for coupling to the vein of a body to receive blood to be dialized and to discharge dialized blood respectively. The blood panel includes a semi-permeable membrane through which biologically active material contained within the body of blood diffuses.

An absorbent panel is disposed at the opposite side of the membrane for passing the biologically active material and mechanism is provided for communicating the biologically active material to the ureter of the body.

One aspect of the invention also includes the insitu process of dializing body blood.

Claims

1. An artificial replacement kidney implant for insitu removing biologically active material from body blood comprising:

at least one hollow blood receiving panel having an inlet for receiving blood to be dialyzed and an outlet for discharging dialyzed blood;

means for coupling said inlet to a body artery;

means for coupling said outlet to a body vein;

said panel comprising a semi-permeable membrane through which biologically active material in the blood diffuses; and

waste discharge means abutting said membrane for receiving and passing said biologically active material, which has diffused through said membrane, to the body ureter;

said waste discharge means comprising porous means and at least one drain tube embedded therein for receiving and passing said biologically active material.

2. The artificial kidney set forth in claim 1 wherein said porous means comprises a sponge.

3. An artificial replacement kidney implant for dialyzing body blood within a human body comprising:

a chamber having an inlet for receiving blood to be dialyzed and an outlet for discharging dialyzed blood;

means for coupling said inlet to a human artery within said body;

means for coupling said outlet to a human vein within said body;

said chamber including a semi-permeable membrane through which biologically active material in said blood to be dialyzed diffuses;

non-liquid means abutting said membrane for receiving and passing said biologically active material which has diffused through said membrane; and

means for communicating said biologically active material from said non-liquid means to a ureter within said body;

said non-liquid means comprising

absorbent means for absorbing said biologically active material; and

at least one hollow drain tube embedded in said absorbent means.

4. An artificial kidney for removing biologically active material from body blood comprising:

a hollow panel having a blood receiving inlet and a blood discharging outlet;

said panel including a membrane through which said biologically active material passes but which prevents the passage of said blood;

non-liquid absorbent means including a sponge adjacent said membrane for receiving and passing said biologically active material; and

drain means for draining said biologically active material from said non-liquid absorbent means including at least one drain tube embedded in said absorbent means.

5. The artificial kidney set forth in claim 4 wherein said absorbent means comprises a sponge panel.

6. An artificial kidney for removing biologically active material from body blood comprising:

a hollow panel having a blood receiving inlet and a blood discharging outlet;

said panel including a membrane through which said biologically active material passes but which prevents the passage of said blood; and

non-liquid absorbent means including a sponge panel adjacent said membrane and a plurality of drain tubes embedded in said panel for receiving and passing said biologically active material.

7. The artificial kidney set forth in claim 6 wherein said non-liquid absorbent means including waste discharge means and means for coupling said waste discharge means to a body ureter.

8. The artificial kidney set forth in claim 6 including means for coupling said inlet to a body artery and means for coupling said outlet to a body vein.

9. An artificial replacement kidney implant for dialyzing body blood within a human body without the necessity of any mechanism external to the body comprising:

a chamber having an inlet for receiving blood to be dialyzed and an outlet for discharging dialyzed blood;

means for coupling said inlet to a human artery within said body;

means for coupling said outlet to a human vein within said body;

said chamber including a semi-permeable membrane through which biologically active material in said blood to be dialyzed diffuses;

non-liquid absorbent means abutting said membrane for receiving and passing said biologically active material which has diffused through said membrane; and

means for communicating said biologically active material from said non-liquid absorbent means to a body waste discharge system such as a ureter within said body.

10. The artificial kidney implant set forth in claim 9 wherein said non-liquid means comprises a sponge panel.

11. The artificial kidney implant set forth in claim 9 wherein said non-liquid means includes at least one hollow drain tube embedded in said absorbent means.

12. The artificial kidney implant set forth in claim 11 wherein said drain tube includes a side wall having a plurality of spaced apart openings therein.

13. An artificial replacement kidney implant for dialyzing body blood within a human body cavity comprising:

a plurality of hollow blood receiving panels each having an inlet for receiving blood to be dialyzed and an outlet for discharging dialyzed blood;

each of said panels including a semi-permeable flaccid membrane through which any biologically active material within said blood diffuses;

a plurality of porous non-liquid absorbent means interspersed between said panels to provide lateral support for said panels and abutting said membranes for absorbing and passing said biologically active material;

envelope means for enveloping said panels and said absorbent means to maintain said panels and said absorbent means in contiguous relation and to receive said biologically active material from said absorbent means;

means, passing through said envelope means, for coupling said inlets to a human artery within said body to communicate blood to be dialyzed to said blood receiving panels;

means, passing through said envelope means, for coupling said outlets to a human vein within said body to communicate dialyzed blood to a human vein within said body;

said envelope means including a discharge port for discharging said biologically active material; and

means for coupling said discharge port to a ureter within said body for communicating said biologically active material to a human bladder within said body.

14. An in situ process of dialyzing blood within the body without utilizing any mechanism external to the body comprising:

communicating blood to be dialyzed from a body artery to one side of a semi-permeable membrane through which biologically active material, included with the blood, diffuses and communicating the dialyzed blood to a body vein; and

collecting the biologically active material with non-liquid absorbent means abutting the opposite side of said membrane and communicating said biologically active material to a body ureter without utilizing any mechanism external to the body.

15. The process set forth in claim 14 wherein said step of collecting the biologically active material comprises absorbing the biologically active material and passing said material through a plurality of drain tubes.

16. The process set forth in claim 14 wherein said step of communicating blood comprises

surgically coupling the inlet of a hollow blood receiving panel to a body artery and surgically coupling the outlet of said blood receiving panel to a body vein;

and

the step of collecting the biological material includes the step of surgically coupling said non-liquid absorbent means to the body ureter.