The invention is directed to the removal of serum gal-3 from circulation by plasmapheresis, comprising at least in part donor apheresis, using gal-3 binding agents in either a fixed bed, or in a form easily removed, such as by being complexed with magnetic particles. This method, on its own, brings a sharp reduction and relief from the inflammation and fibroses that can be induced by circulating gal-3. The process may be combined with the administration of gal-3 binding agents, such as modified citrus pectin, to further lower unbound gal-3 levels, to the point where gal-3 in the tissues may be addressed. This method may also be combined with removal of TNF receptors to provide an effective treatment for cancer.

A cell processing system includes at least one processor connectable to a source container filled with a biological fluid, the processor including a spinning membrane configured to receive and separate target cells from the biological fluid, the target cells exiting at a first outlet, first and second containers selectively connected to the first outlet; and a magnet. The system also includes a controller configured to operate the spinning membrane to receive biological fluid and to direct the target cells to the first container, to pause to permit magnetic particles to be associated with the target cells in the first container, to operate the spinning membrane to receive the contents of the first container with the magnet applied to the target cells associated with the magnetic particles, to remove or deactivate the magnet, and to transfer the target cells to the second container.

The invention relates to an apparatus for extracorporeal removal of protein-bound toxins from blood plasma comprising a first line device, a second line device, a third line device and a fourth line device, a dialyzer or hemofilter arranged between the first line device and the second line device and/or an adsorber, means for generating a field, at least partially surrounding the first line device and/or the dialyzer or hemofilter and/or the adsorber, a controllable fluid conveyance device arranged in the first line device and/or the second line device, and at least one controllable body fluid conveyance unit arranged in the third line device and/or the fourth line device, a filter, wherein the permeate side of the filter is connected to the first line device and the second line device, and the side of the filter to be dialyzed is connected at its inlet to the third line device, which can be connected to a patient and is connected at its outlet to the fourth line device which can be connected to the patient, wherein a controllable flow of fluid through the line devices and the dialyzer or hemofilter and/or the adsorber can be generated by means of the fluid conveyance devices.

A cell processing system includes at least one processor connectable to a source container filled with a biological fluid, the processor including a spinning membrane configured to receive and separate target cells from the biological fluid, the target cells exiting at a first outlet, first and second containers selectively connected to the first outlet; and a magnet. The system also includes a controller configured to operate the spinning membrane to receive biological fluid and to direct the target cells to the first container, to pause to permit magnetic particles to be associated with the target cells in the first container, to operate the spinning membrane to receive the contents of the first container with the magnet applied to the target cells associated with the magnetic particles, to remove or deactivate the magnet, and to transfer the target cells to the second container.

A process for the sequential processing of opaque and transparent biological fluids such as whole blood, apheresis blood, bone marrow blood, umbilical cord blood, buffy coat or cultured cells by processing steps in a hollow cylindrical centrifugal processing chamber (300) which is part of a disposable set. At least three different procedures selected from washing, incubation, transduction, separation, density gradient separation, dilution and volume adjustment are each carried out once or repeated a number of times according to a given processing profile in the processing chamber. Each procedure involves an input into the processing chamber, an operation in the processing chamber and an output from the processing chamber by displacement of a piston (310). The at least three different procedures are sequentially chained one after the other to constitute an overall sequential operation in the processing chamber and its disposable set. A first application is incubation for binding magnetic beads with human blood cells or stem cells. A second application is transduction by which foreign genetic material is inserted into human blood cells or stem cells by a virus. A third application is reconditioning biological fluids to achieve reproducible concentration and volumes of blood cells or stem cells.

The invention relates to a system, comprising: a) a sample processing unit, comprising an input port and an output port coupled to a rotating container having at least one sample chamber, the sample processing unit configured provide a first processing step to a sample or to rotate the container so as to apply a centrifugal force to a sample deposited in the chamber and separate at least a first component and a second component of the deposited sample; and b) a sample separation unit coupled to the output port of the sample processing unit, the cell separation unit comprising separation column holder (42), a pump (64) and a plurality of valves (1-11) configured to at least partially control fluid flow through a fluid circuitry and a separation column (40) positioned in the holder, the separation column configured to separate labeled and unlabeled components of sample flowed through the column.

A fully implantable intracorporeal blood purifier for patients with impaired, missing, or normal kidneys overwhelmed by a myeloproliferative disorder such as polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, primary myelofibrosis, or chronic myelogenous leukemia. Functioning continuously or intermittently around the clock, the patient is spared the need to visit the clinic as frequently for treatment, and less severe renal dysfunction may allow the intervals between visits to be considerably extended if not eliminated. The intracorporeal blood purifier represents the extractive or negative component in a prosthetic disorder response system of which the positive component detects the need for and releases medication such as tyrosine-kinase inhibitorsimatinib, and interferon alfa-2b, and cooperates with the purifier to accomplish kidney functions not simply extractive, such as releasing hormones, calcitriol, sodium, and potassium into the blood, maintaining electrolyte, acid-base, and fluid balance, and furnishing small molecule amino acids and glucose by directly targeting the gut.

A method and system for treating Alzheimer's disease wherein blood, spinal fluid or brain cavity fluid is circulated into and outside of the body by means of blood pumps or other external circulatory systems. While passing through the pumping system, the amyloid plaques and tau tangles are filtered from the fluids and returned to the body lowering the protein levels, and in the process, reduce symptoms. In one embodiment a patient's blood is filtered using a pump to circulate the blood from the patient to the collection vessel where an electrical current will cause anything that has a positive charge to be attracted to a cathode plate suspended in the collection vessel for later disposal. In an alternate embodiment a patient's brain and/or spinal fluid a pump operates to circulate a flushing fluid. The pump will circulate the solution from the collection vessel to the patient.

A dialyzer control apparatus includes a magnetic field generator which is disposed on an outer surface of a dialyzer which removes wastes from a blood flowing therein and generates a magnetic field; and a controller which controls the magnetic field generator to perform a magnetic field stimulation on the blood flowing into the dialyzer. The magnetic field stimulation may be a stimulation related to the improvement of the Rouleaux formation for the red blood cells in the blood.

Described are means for the direct and continuous connection of a catheter to the lumen of any tubular anatomical structure, or ductus, without medically significant leakage. A port implanted at the body surface with piping to a periductal collar allows drug or radionuclide delivery that bypasses the upstream lumen. The port allows injection, infusion, aspiration, or attachment of an automatic ambulatory pump. A superparamagnetic nanoparticle carrier-bound drug, for example, can be introduced into the lumen to pass downstream until the particles, with or without the drug still bound, are drawn into the lumen wall by a magnetized jacket surrounding the ductus. Such constitutes a method of drug targeting whereby a segment of a vessel or the territory supplied by a branch of that segment can be circumscribed for exposure to the drug. A jacket with side-entry connector positioned in surrounding relation to a lesion requiring treatment can itself be magnetized.