Air trap for a medical infusion device
First Claim
1. A method for removing air or other undissolved gas from a flow of blood in a dialysis unit, comprising:
- providing an air trap in a blood flow circuit of a dialysis unit, the air trap having a container with an inlet port located at a top of the container and an outlet port at a bottom of the container, the air trap being arranged to remove air from blood flowing from the inlet port to the outlet port;
introducing blood into the container via the inlet port of the air trap such that the blood flows from the inlet port to the outlet port of the container, blood introduced into the container via the inlet port flowing from a dialyzer that is fluidly coupled to the inlet port and is part of the blood flow circuit;
removing air from blood flowing in the air trap and trapping the air in the air trap; and
causing flow of fluid from the outlet port to and out of the inlet port of the air trap so as to remove the trapped air from the container.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An air trap for a blood circuit and method for removing air from blood in a dialysis unit. The air trap may include a blood inlet supply line, a blood outlet supply line, and a container having an approximately spherical internal wall, an inlet at a top end of the container connected to the blood inlet supply line, and an outlet at a bottom end of the container connected to the blood outlet supply line. The inlet may be offset from a vertical axis of the approximately spherical internal wall such that blood entering the container is directed to flow in a spiral-like path. The inlet port may be arranged to introduce blood into the container in a direction that is approximately tangential to the approximately spherical inner wall of the container and/or in a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the vertical axis of the container.
571 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method for removing air or other undissolved gas from a flow of blood in a dialysis unit, comprising:
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providing an air trap in a blood flow circuit of a dialysis unit, the air trap having a container with an inlet port located at a top of the container and an outlet port at a bottom of the container, the air trap being arranged to remove air from blood flowing from the inlet port to the outlet port; introducing blood into the container via the inlet port of the air trap such that the blood flows from the inlet port to the outlet port of the container, blood introduced into the container via the inlet port flowing from a dialyzer that is fluidly coupled to the inlet port and is part of the blood flow circuit; removing air from blood flowing in the air trap and trapping the air in the air trap; and causing flow of fluid from the outlet port to and out of the inlet port of the air trap so as to remove the trapped air from the container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification