Extracorporeal blood treatment and system having reversible blood pumps

• US 9,089,653 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2013
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gambro Lundia AB (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gambro UF Solutions, Inc. (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: O'Mahony, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiest, Philip R
• Assistant Examiner(s): KLEIN, BENJAMIN JACOB
• Application Number:
  US13/904,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20130261529A1
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/342 Adding solutions to the blood, e.g. substitution solutions for preventing coagulation A61M1/3672
• 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 1/3626 Gas bubble detectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3639 Blood pressure control, pressure transducers specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3656 Monitoring patency or flow at connection sites; Detecting disconnections
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/15 Detection of leaks
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/33 Controlling, regulating or measuring
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3306 Optical measuring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3331 Pressure; Flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3334 Measuring or controlling the flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/113 in other functional devices, e.g. dialysers or heart-lung machines
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/279 Peristaltic pumps, e.g. roller pumps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/37 Haemodialysis, haemofiltration or diafiltration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/408 the force acting on the blood contacting member being mechanical, e.g. transmitted by a shaft or cable
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/531 using blood pressure data, e.g. from blood pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/554 of blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/857 Implantable blood tubes

Abstract

An extracorporeal blood processing method using a blood circuit comprising a pair of blood passages attached to opposite flow ends of a blood treatment device and said blood circuit is mounted on a blood pump console, the method includes: withdrawing blood from a vascular system of a human patient and drawing the blood into the blood circuit; pumping the withdrawn blood through one of the pair of blood passages using a first blood pump of the console and into the blood treatment device; pumping the treated blood from the treatment device through the other of the pair of blood passages using a second blood pump of the console; infusing the treated blood from the other blood passage and into the vascular system of the patient, and periodically reversing a flow direction of blood through the pair of blood passages and blood treatment device.

Claims

1. An extracorporeal blood processing method using a blood circuit comprising a pair of blood passages attached to opposite flow ends of a blood treatment device and said blood circuit is mounted on a blood pump console, said method comprising:

withdrawing blood from a vascular system of a human patient and drawing the blood into the blood circuit;

pumping the withdrawn blood through one blood passage of the pair of blood passages and into the blood treatment device using a first blood pump coupled to the one blood passage and mounted to the console;

pumping the treated blood from the treatment device through the other blood passage of the pair of blood passages using a second blood pump coupled to the other blood passage and mounted to the console;

infusing the treated blood from the other blood passage and into the vascular system of the patient;

withdrawing fluid from the withdrawn blood as the blood passes through the blood treatment device, wherein the rate of fluid withdrawal is determined by a filtrate pump coupled to a filtrate passage and mounted to the console;

periodically reversing a flow direction of blood through the pair of blood passages and blood treatment device; and

stopping the withdrawal of fluid from the withdrawn blood while the flow direction is reversed by stopping the filtrate pump.

2. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the blood treatment device is a blood filter.

3. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the pair of blood passages are similar in length.

4. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the blood treatment device is an ultrafiltration blood filter.

5. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein a pump controller of said console cyclically switches the first and second blood pumps to reverse the blood flow direction after a volume of blood pumped through one of said pair of blood passages is in a range of 50 ml to 200 ml.

6. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the pair of blood passages each include a tube connectable to a catheter.

7. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the pair of blood passages each include a tube connectable to an implanted blood access device.

8. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein said blood treatment device further comprises a filter having a filtrate output tube and said filtrate pump is connectable to the filtrate output tube.

9. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein said controller operates the blood pumps to move blood through the circuit at a flow rate in a range of five milliliters per minute (ml/min) to fifteen ml/min.

10. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the circuit comprises an air in blood detection device coupled to each of the pair of blood passages, and said method further comprises monitoring for air in the blood flow through the pair of blood passages and stopping the blood flow in the circuit if air is detected in the blood flow.

11. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein a rate of pumping the withdrawn blood is initially selected by human operator and thereafter is automatically adjusted by a controller of the pump console.

12. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the flow direction is cyclically reversed.

13. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the flow direction is reversed in a response to an abnormal pressure detected in the blood passage.

14. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 wherein the flow direction is reversed when a blood volume through the circuit is in a range of 50 ml to 200 ml.

15. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 further comprising adding an anticoagulant to the withdrawn blood upstream of the treatment device during both flow directions.

16. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 further comprising adding an anticoagulant to the withdrawn blood upstream of the blood treatment device during both flow directions, wherein a pair of one-way valves are connected to the blood passages and on opposite sides of the blood treatment device to allow the anticoagulant to enter only the blood passage which has the lowest pressure.

17. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 1 further comprising adding an anticoagulant to the withdrawn blood upstream of the treatment device during both flow directions, wherein a pair of one-way valves connected to the blood passages and on opposite sides of the blood treatment device allow the anticoagulant to enter the blood passages upstream of the blood treatment device.

18. The extracorporeal blood processing method in claim 17 wherein the one-way valves prevent anticoagulant flowing in one of the blood passages downstream of the blood treatment device.

19. The extracorporeal blood processing method of claim 17 wherein the one-way valves operate automatically.

20. The extracorporeal blood processing method of claim 17 wherein the one-way valves are actuated by a pressure in the blood passages.

21. The extracorporeal blood processing method of claim 17 wherein the one-way valves are actuated to an open position by a relative positive pressure in one of the blood passages and to a closed position by a relative negative pressure in the other blood passage.

22. The extracorporeal blood processing method of claim 1 further comprising detecting a leak in the blood passages by monitoring the blood passages for air entrained in the blood flow.

23. The extracorporeal blood processing method of claim 22 wherein the flow direction is reversed before a volume of the treated blood infused into the patient exceeds a predetermined volume in a range of 50 ml to 200 ml.