Medical fluid machine with supply autoconnection

• US 8,945,042 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baxter Healthcare SA (Baxter International Inc.), Baxter International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Baxter Healthcare SA (Baxter International Inc.), Baxter International Inc.
• Inventors: Lee, Patrick, Biewer, John, Childers, Robert W., Foohey, Mark W., Gilbert, Richard R. II, Kopychev, Andrey, Murphey, Randy, Orand, Austin J., Reitz, Douglas, Roger, Rodolfo, Steck, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sirmons, Kevin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): GILBERT, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US13/750,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20130138037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 604/29, 604533-538, 138/69, 138/96.R, 417/477.2
• US Class Current: 604/29
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/152 Details related to the interface between cassette and machine
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/153 the cassette being adapted for heating or cooling the treating fluid, e.g. the dialysate or the treating gas
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/155 with treatment-fluid pumping means or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/156 Constructional details of the cassette, e.g. specific details on material or shape
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/159 specially adapted for peritoneal dialysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/28 Peritoneal dialysis ; Other peritoneal treatment, e.g. oxygenation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/284 Continuous flow peritoneal dialysis [CFPD]
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/12 with interchangeable cassettes forming partially or totally the fluid circuit
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/58 Means for facilitating use, e.g. by people with impaired vision
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6054 Magnetic identification systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6072 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/18 Methods or apparatus for making the connection under sterile conditions, i.e. sterile docking
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/162 Needle sets, i.e. connections by puncture between reservoir and tube ; Connections between reservoir and tube in jet-action syringes A61M5/30; connectors for tubes having sealed ends and a needle for piercing them A61M39/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16813 by controlling the degree of opening of the flow line
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/6116 With holding means functioning only during transportation assembly or disassembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A medical fluid system including: fluid containers and a tube extending from same, each tube including a cap; a pumping cassette including port spikes; a medical fluid machine including: occluders; a shuttle configured to receive the tubes, wherein each tube is associated with one of the occluders; a driving mechanism translating the shuttle; a cap removal device between the cassette and the shuttle; and a control unit programmed to cause: (i) the occluders to pinch their tubes, (ii) cause the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle towards the fluid pumping cassette, the cap removal device engaging the tube caps, (iii) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle away from the fluid pumping cassette and cap removal device, pulling the tube caps off of the tubes, and (iv) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle back towards the fluid pumping cassette for the port spikes to spike the occluded tubes.

Claims

1. A medical fluid system with supply autoconnection, the medical fluid system comprising:

at least two fluid containers and a tube extending from each of the two containers, wherein each of the tubes includes a cap on a tube end;

a fluid pumping cassette including at least two port spikes;

a medical fluid machine including

at least two occluders,

a shuttle configured to receive the tubes, wherein each of the tubes is operably associated with one of the at least two occluders,

a driving mechanism for translating the shuttle, and

a cap removal device positionable between the fluid pumping cassette and the translating shuttle; and

a control unit programmed to cause (i) the occluders to pinch their associated tubes to prevent fluid flow, (ii) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle holding the occluded tubes towards the fluid pumping cassette, the cap removal device in turn engaging the tube caps, (iii) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle holding the occluded tubes away from the fluid pumping cassette and the cap removal device, so that the cap removal device pulls the tube caps off of the tube ends of the respective tubes, and (iv) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle back towards the fluid pumping cassette to allow the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette to spike the tube ends of the occluded tubes.

2. The medical fluid system of claim 1, which includes a motor-driven lead screw coupled to the shuttle to translate the shuttle.

3. The medical fluid system of claim 1, wherein each of the tube ends includes a seal positioned and arranged to be spiked by one of the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette.

4. The medical fluid system of claim 1, which includes a reader operable with the control unit, and wherein each of the tube ends includes an identifier tag positioned and arranged to be read by the reader.

5. The medical fluid system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further programmed to move the cap removal device out from between the shuttle and the fluid pumping cassette so that in (iv) the shuttle can be translated back towards the fluid pumping cassette.

6. The medical fluid system of claim 5, wherein the shuttle and the cap removal device are separately motorized.

7. The medical fluid system of claim 1, which includes a spike cap fitted onto each of the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette.

8. The medical fluid system of claim 7, wherein the control unit causes the cap removal device in (ii) to be moved by the shuttle to engage each spike cap and in (iii) to pull the spike caps off of each of the respective port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette.

9. The medical fluid system of claim 1, which also includes at least one sensor associated with the shuttle and operable with the control unit to provide shuttle position information to the controller.

10. The medical fluid system of claim 9, wherein the sensor is an optical sensor (a) sensing the moving shuttle or (b) moveable with the shuttle to sense stationary targets.

11. The medical fluid system of claim 9, wherein the sensor is a proximity sensor (a) sensing the moving shuttle or (b) moveable with the shuttle to sense stationary targets.

12. A medical fluid machine operable with a fluid pumping cassette having at least two port spikes, the fluid pumping cassette in fluid communication with at least two fluid containers, each container including a tube extending therefrom, wherein each tube includes a cap on a tube end, the medical fluid machine comprising:

at least two occluders;

a shuttle configured to receive the tubes extending from the at least two fluid containers, wherein each of the tubes is operably associated with one of the at least two occluders;

a driving mechanism for translating the shuttle;

a cap removal device positionable between the fluid pumping cassette and the translating shuttle; and

a control unit programmed to cause (i) the occluders to pinch their associated tubes to prevent fluid flow, (ii) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle holding the occluded tubes towards the fluid pumping cassette, the cap removal device in turn engaging the tube caps, (iii) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle holding the occluded tubes away from the fluid pumping cassette and the cap removal device, so that the cap removal device pulls the tube caps off of the tube ends of the respective tubes, and (iv) the driving mechanism to translate the shuttle back towards the fluid pumping cassette to allow the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette to spike the tube ends of the occluded tubes.

13. The medical fluid machine of claim 12, which includes a motor-driven lead screw coupled to the shuttle to translate the shuttle.

14. The medical fluid machine of claim 12, wherein the control unit is further programmed to move the cap removal device out from between the shuttle and the fluid pumping cassette so that in (iv) the shuttle can be translated back towards the fluid pumping cassette.

15. The medical fluid machine of claim 12, which also includes at least one sensor associated with the shuttle and operable with the control unit to provide to shuttle position information to the control unit.

16. The medical fluid machine of claim 15, wherein the sensor is an optical sensor (a) sensing the moving shuttle or (b) moveable with the shuttle to sense stationary targets.

17. The medical fluid machine of claim 15, wherein the sensor is a proximity sensor (a) sensing the moving shuttle or (b) moveable with the shuttle to sense stationary targets.

18. A method of connecting fluid containers to a fluid pumping cassette including a plurality of port spikes, the method comprising:

mounting the fluid pumping cassette to a medical fluid machine;

receiving tubes extending from the fluid containers and associating each tube with one of the plurality of port spikes, each tube including a tube cap on a tube end;

occluding the tubes to prevent fluid flow;

translating the occluded tubes towards the fluid pumping cassette;

causing the medical fluid machine to engage each of the tube caps;

translating the occluded tubes away from the fluid pumping cassette to pull the tube caps off of the tube ends of the tubes; and

translating the occluded tubes towards the fluid pumping cassette to allow the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette to spike the tube ends of the occluded tubes.

19. The method of claim 18, which further includes reading identification tags on the tubing.

20. The method of claim 19, which includes moving the removed tube caps out of a path between the tube ends and the fluid pumping cassette to translate the occluded tubes towards the fluid pumping cassette to allow the port spikes of the fluid pumping cassette to spike the tube ends of the occluded tubes.