Blood pumping and processing system
First Claim
1. A blood filtering, pumping and tangential flow separating apparatus, comprising:
- a filter connected to receive a mixture of blood cells, platelets, blood fluid and particulate matter from a patient and being capable of removing at least a portion of said particulate matter larger than blood cells to form a filtered mixture, said filter having an outlet port from which said filtered mixture exits;
a main pump having a pumping chamber having a pump inlet port arranged to receive said filtered mixture and a pump outlet port from which said filtered mixture is pumped;
valve means between said filter outlet port and said pump inlet port for (1) preventing flow from said pumping chamber back into said filter and (2) allowing flow from said filter outlet port to said pump inlet port when said filtered mixture is not being pumped out of said pump outlet port;
a tangential flow separator having a narrow passage having a porous membrane having an infacing and an outfacing surface and extending along said passage, said passage being no more than about 500 microns across, said passage extending from a separator inlet to a separator outlet;
delivery means for delivering said filtered mixture from said pumping chamber to said separator inlet to provide a pressure in said passage sufficient to impel blood fluid through said porous membrane and a flow rate through said passage sufficient to prevent said blood cells at platelets from blocking or passing through said porous membrane;
fluid removal means for removing blood fluid from said outfacing surface of said membrane, a pressure adjacent said outfacing surface of said membrane being less than the pressure in said passage; and
means for returning the blood cells and platelets from said separator outlet to the patient.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Blood is pumped by a pump, preferably a bi-concave diaphragm pump. When the blood pump is full of blood, this full condition is detected and a batch of blood is emptied completely from the pump for delivery to the patient. A second pump, also preferably a bi-concave diaphragm pump, pumps anti-coagulant into the blood as it is recovered. This second pump ejects its contents every time the blood pump ejects its contents. Particulates in the blood are removed by a filter and air is removed by a defoamer. Fluid and very small matter in the blood may be removed in a tangential flow separator. Blood flows through a narrow passage along one or more membranes, with fluid and small matter passing through the membrane(s). A washing fluid may be added to blood within this separator. A third pump, again preferably a bi-concave diaphragm pump, is used to add this washing fluid. The third pump is emptied whenever the blood pump empties, and thereafter refills with washing fluid.
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Citations
80 Claims
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1. A blood filtering, pumping and tangential flow separating apparatus, comprising:
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a filter connected to receive a mixture of blood cells, platelets, blood fluid and particulate matter from a patient and being capable of removing at least a portion of said particulate matter larger than blood cells to form a filtered mixture, said filter having an outlet port from which said filtered mixture exits; a main pump having a pumping chamber having a pump inlet port arranged to receive said filtered mixture and a pump outlet port from which said filtered mixture is pumped; valve means between said filter outlet port and said pump inlet port for (1) preventing flow from said pumping chamber back into said filter and (2) allowing flow from said filter outlet port to said pump inlet port when said filtered mixture is not being pumped out of said pump outlet port; a tangential flow separator having a narrow passage having a porous membrane having an infacing and an outfacing surface and extending along said passage, said passage being no more than about 500 microns across, said passage extending from a separator inlet to a separator outlet; delivery means for delivering said filtered mixture from said pumping chamber to said separator inlet to provide a pressure in said passage sufficient to impel blood fluid through said porous membrane and a flow rate through said passage sufficient to prevent said blood cells at platelets from blocking or passing through said porous membrane; fluid removal means for removing blood fluid from said outfacing surface of said membrane, a pressure adjacent said outfacing surface of said membrane being less than the pressure in said passage; and means for returning the blood cells and platelets from said separator outlet to the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 80)
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48. A blood pumping and fluid introduction apparatus, comprising:
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a main pump having a pumping subchamber having a pump inlet port arranged to receive blood and a pump outlet port from which said blood is pumped, said main pump having a substantially biconoave main pump chamber divided by a main pump diaphragm into said pumping subchamber and a pressurization subchamber; a blood delivery system for delivering blood to said pump inlet port; valve means between said blood delivery system and said pump inlet port for (1) preventing flow from said pumping subchamber back into said blood delivery system and for (2) allowing flow from said blood delivery system to said pump inlet port when blood is not being pumped out of said pump outlet port; means for determining when said main pump pumping subchamber is substantially full; main pump pressurizing means for pressurizing said main pump pressurization subchamber, in response to said main pump pumping subchamber being substantially full, sufficiently to impel substantially all of said blood out of said pump outlet port; a fluid introduction pump positioned to deliver a fluid to said blood; and means for respectively starting and stopping said fluid introduction pump in response respectively to starting and stopping of pumping of said main pump. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A blood pumping and processing apparatus comprising:
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a rigid main pump housing having an internal wall structure defining a bi-conoave chamber; a main pump diaphragm sealed at its periphery to said internal wall structure, said main pump diaphragm dividing said chamber into a pressurization subchamber and a stroking subchamber, said diaphragm being of a shape and size sufficient to fit substantially matingly against said internal wall structure defining either of said subchambers and being formulated of a material which is sufficiently flexible to allow said diaphragm to fit substantially matingly against said internal wall structure defining each of said subchambers whereby by diaphragm motion and flexing each of said subchambers can vary in size from substantially zero volume to substantially the volume of said chamber; inlet valve means for delivering blood to said stroking subchamber and for preventing backflow therethrough; outlet valve means for permitting blood to leave said stroking subchamber and for preventing flow back into the stroking subchamber; means for pressurizing said pressurization subchamber at a controlled rate sufficiently to motivate said diaphragm to substantially matingly fit against said internal wall structure defining said stroking subchamber to expel substantially all blood in said stroking subchamber through said outlet valve means; means for depressurizing said pressurization subchamber at a controlled rate sufficiently to motivate said diaphragm to substantially matingly fit against said internal wall structure defining said pressurization subchamber; means for sensing when said stroking subchamber is substantially full and for activating said pressurizing means when said stroking subchamber is substantially full; and means for processing blood flowing to or from said main pump. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method of separating blood cells from blood plasma, comprising:
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filtering and defoaming a recovered mixture of healthy blood cells, platelets, plasma, particulate matter and entrapped gases to remove at least a portion of said particulate matter therefrom and at least a portion of the entrapped gases to form a defoamed and filtered mixture; pumping said defoamed and filtered mixture into an inlet of a tangential flow separator having a narrow flow through passage having a porous membrane having an infacing surface and an outfacing surface and extending along the passage, the passage being no more than about 500 microns across, said passage extending from said separator inlet to a separator outlet, said pumping providing a pressure within said passage sufficient to impel plasma through the porous membrane and a flow rate through the passage sufficient to prevent the blood cells from blocking or passing through the porous membrane; and removing plasma from the outfacing surface of the membrane by maintaining a pressure adjacent said outfacing surface of said membrane as less than that in the passage. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. A blood pumping and treating apparatus, comprising:
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a main pump having a pumping subchamber having a pump inlet port arranged to receive blood and a pump outlet port from which said blood is pumped; a blood delivery system for delivering blood to said pump inlet port; valve means between said blood delivery system and said pump inlet port for (1) preventing flow from said pumping subchamber back into said blood delivery system and for (2) allowing flow from said blood delivery system to said pump inlet port when blood is not being pumped out of said pump outlet port; means for determining when said main pump pumping subchamber is substantially full; means for activating said pump to pump blood out of said main pump pumping subchamber in response to said main pump pumping subchamber being substantially full sufficiently to impel substantially all of said blood out of said pump outlet port; a wash fluid pump positioned to deliver wash fluid to said blood; means for determining inlet blood hematocrit to said main pump pumping subchamber; and means for controlling delivery of fluid by said wash fluid pump as a function of inlet blood hematocrit to be in an amount to provide output blood hematocrit following introduction of said wash fluid which falls within a selected range. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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Specification