Medical blood-treating apparatus for the extra-corporeal treatment of blood

• US 9,132,218 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2008
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care AG)
• Original Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care AG)
• Inventors: Schrrs, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Koharski, Christopher D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinga, Roland
• Application Number:
  US12/665,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20110022103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,649 Days
• Field of Search: 607/2, 607/3, 607/48, 607/62, 607/144, 600/386, 600/388, 604 28- 30
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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. A method for 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 muscles of the patient with electrical pulses during the extra-corporeal blood treatment to improve the efficiency of the blood treatment; and

at least one of;

setting at least one of a) a shape, b) a current intensity, c) an amplitude, d) a frequency, e) a length, or f) a modulation time of the pulses as a function of parameters relevant to the blood treatment, and at least one of controlling or regulating the stimulation as a function of a state of operation of the blood treatment or,

setting at least one of a) a shape, b) a current intensity, c) an amplitude, d) a frequency, e) a length, or f) a modulation time of the pulses, and at least one of controlling or regulating the blood treatment as a function of a state of operation of the stimulation,

wherein at least one of the controlling or regulating the stimulation or controlling or regulating the blood treatment is based on an improvement of the efficiency of the blood treatment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the blood-treating unit is at least one of a dialyzer or a filter.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters relevant to the blood treatment are preset for the blood treatment by inputting on an input unit.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the blood treatment, and

sensing the parameters relevant to the blood treatment by sensors of the blood-treating unit.