METHODS AND APPARATUSES USING UREA PERMSELECTIVE DIFFUSION THROUGH CHARGED MEMBRANES

• US 20170189599A1
• Filed: 09/14/2016
• Published: 07/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• 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: Menzel Bueno, Cristian Adolfo, Ding, Yuanpang Samuel, Yeh, Rosa
• Granted Patent: US 10,463,776 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/155 with treatment-fluid pumping means or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/159 specially adapted for peritoneal dialysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1603 Regulation parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1696 with dialysate regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/267 used for pumping
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/282 Operational modes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/287 Dialysates therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3472 with treatment of the filtrate

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for regenerating used dialysis fluid are described herein. In an embodiment, a regenerative dialysis fluid system includes a dialysis unit configured to generate used dialysis fluid including urea, a urea separation unit configured to separate at least a portion of the urea from the used dialysis fluid into a secondary fluid, and a urea removal unit configured to remove at least a portion of the urea from the secondary fluid and return the secondary fluid to the urea separation unit. In an embodiment, the urea separation unit includes a membrane separating a dialysis fluid chamber from a urea chamber, the membrane including at least one of: (i) a positive charge to prevent positive ions from transporting across the membrane; and (ii) a negative charge to prevent negative ions from transporting across the membrane.

Claims

1. A regenerative dialysis fluid system comprising:

a dialysis unit configured to generate used dialysis fluid including urea;

a urea separation unit configured to separate at least a portion of the urea from the used dialysis fluid into a secondary fluid; and

a urea removal unit configured to remove at least a portion of the urea from the secondary fluid and return the secondary fluid to the urea separation unit.

2. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, wherein the dialysis unit is configured to clean blood to generate the used dialysis fluid.

3. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, wherein the dialysis unit is a peritoneal dialysis unit.

4. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, wherein the urea separation unit includes a dialysis fluid chamber, a urea chamber and a membrane separating the dialysis fluid chamber from the urea chamber, the dialysis fluid chamber receiving the used dialysis fluid generated by the dialysis unit, the urea chamber outputting the secondary fluid with urea to the urea removal unit.

5. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 4, wherein an outlet of the dialysis unit is in fluid communication with an inlet of the dialysis fluid chamber, and wherein an inlet of the dialysis unit is in fluid communication with an outlet of the dialysis fluid chamber.

6. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 4, wherein an outlet of the urea chamber is in fluid communication with an inlet of the urea removal unit, and wherein an inlet of the urea chamber is in fluid communication with an outlet of the urea removal unit.

7. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 4, wherein the membrane includes at least one of:

(i) a positive charge to prevent positive ions from transporting across the membrane between the dialysis fluid chamber and the urea chamber; and

(ii) a negative charge to prevent negative ions from transporting across the membrane between the dialysis fluid chamber and the urea chamber.

8. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 4, wherein the membrane includes pores sized between about 5 nm and 10 μ

m.

9. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, which includes at least one pump and a control unit configured to control the at least one pump to pump fluid between the dialysis unit, the urea separation unit and the urea removal unit.

10. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, wherein the urea removal unit includes at least one of a chemical adsorption device, an electrooxidation device or an enzymatic oxidation device.

11. The regenerative dialysis fluid system of claim 1, wherein the urea removal unit is configured to collect or discard the urea removed from the secondary fluid.

12. A urea separation unit comprising:

a dialysis fluid chamber configured to receive a continuous flow of dialysis fluid;

a urea chamber configured to receive a continuous flow of secondary fluid; and

a membrane separating the dialysis fluid chamber from the urea chamber, the membrane including at least one of;

(i) a positive charge to prevent positive ions from transporting across the membrane between the dialysis fluid chamber and the urea chamber; and

(ii) a negative charge to prevent negative ions from transporting across the membrane between the dialysis fluid chamber and the urea chamber.

13. The urea separation unit of claim 12, wherein the membrane includes an anion exchange membrane (“

AEM”

) and a cation exchange membrane (“

CEM”

), the AEM providing the positive charge and the CEM providing the negative charge.

14. The urea separation unit of claim 12, wherein the membrane maintains the positive charge and the negative charge.

15. The urea separation unit of claim 12, which includes a blood chamber in addition to the dialysis fluid chamber and the urea chamber, wherein the membrane is a first membrane, and which includes a second membrane configured to filter waste fluid from blood in the blood chamber into the dialysis fluid chamber.

16. The urea separation unit of claim 15, wherein the dialysis fluid chamber is located between the first membrane and the second membrane.

17. The urea separation unit of claim 15, wherein the dialysis fluid chamber is located between the blood chamber and the urea chamber.

18. A method of regenerating used dialysis fluid comprising:

pumping, under control of a control unit, used dialysis fluid including urea against a charged membrane such that at least a portion of the urea flows across the charged membrane into a secondary fluid; and

removing, under control of the control unit, at least a portion of the urea from the secondary fluid.

19. The method of claim 18, which includes pumping, under control of the control unit, blood against a waste membrane to remove waste fluid into the used dialysis fluid.

20. The method of claim 18, which includes pumping, under control of the control unit, the used dialysis fluid through an adsorption device before pumping the used dialysis fluid against the charged membrane.

21. The method of claim 18, which includes automatically adjusting, under control of the control unit, flow of the urea across the charged membrane into the secondary fluid based on feedback from a sensor.

22. The method of claim 18, which includes removing, under control of the control unit, the urea from the secondary fluid by at least one of chemical adsorption, electrooxidation or enzymatic oxidation.