A fluid handling cassette, such as that useable with an automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) cycler device or other infusion apparatus, may include a generally planar body having at least one pump chamber formed as a depression in a first side of the body and a plurality of flowpaths for a fluid that includes a channel. A patient line port may be arranged for connection to a patient line and be in fluid communication with the at least one pump chamber via at least a first one of said flowpaths, and an optional membrane may be attached to the first side of the body over the at least one pump chamber. In one embodiment, the membrane may have a pump chamber portion with an unstressed shape that generally conforms to the depression of the at least one pump chamber in the body and is arranged to be movable for movement of the fluid in a useable space of the at least one pump chamber. One or more spacers may be provided in the at least one pump chamber to prevent the membrane from contacting an inner wall of the at least one pump chamber. The patient line, a drain line, and/or a heater bag line may be positioned to be separately occludable in relation to one or more solution lines that are connectable to the cassette.

Described is a method for manufacturing a diaphragm assembly through the use of injection molding. The method can avoid the use of PTFE as a chemically resistant coating. Further, the method can increase overall adherence of a polymer diaphragm to an insert through the use of an interference surface on at least the surface of a head of the insert.

A diapharagm pump for a bioprocess system comprises a pump head (1; 101; 201; 301) comprising: a common inlet (3); a common outlet (5); a plurality of pump cavities (7) each including at least one cooperating pair of one-way valves, the at least one pair of one-way valves including an inlet valve (9) and an outlet valve (11), wherein the respective inlet valves (9) are in fluid communication with the common inlet (3) and the respective outlet valves (11) are in fluid communication with the common outlet (5) and wherein a centre of the outlet valve (11) for each pump cavity is positionable above a centre of the inlet valve (9) for the same pump cavity when the diaphragm pump is oriented for use to inhibit trapped gas; and a plurality of moveable diaphragms (13) each respectively provided in a respective of said pump cavities (7) for varying a volume of the pump cavities. The system further comprises a pump drive (31) which is configured to transfer a motion to the diaphragms (13) of the pump head (1; 101; 201) for accomplishing a fluid displacement from the common inlet (3) to the common outlet (5) of the pump head (1; 101; 201; 301) as a result of said varying of the volume of the pump cavities (7).

Provided is a diaphragm pump including: a diaphragm that forms a part of a wall part of a pump chamber having a space for housing liquid to be delivered and that is elastically deformable to reciprocate in an inward and outward direction relative to the pump chamber; and a drive unit for elastically deforming the diaphragm toward the inner side in the inward and outward direction. The diaphragm has a lower dead point located inward of a neutral position in the inward and outward direction, in which the diaphragm is not elastically deformed at the neutral position. The drive unit is configured to support the diaphragm on an outer side in the inward and outward direction when the diaphragm lies at the lower dead point after reaching the lower dead point.

Components for a medical infusion fluid handling system, such as an APD system, in which one or more lines (such as solution lines), spikes or other connection ports may be automatically capped and/or de-capped. This feature may provide advantages, such as a reduced likelihood of contamination since no human interaction is required to de-cap and connect the lines, spikes or other connections. For example, a fluid handling cassette may include one or more caps that cover a corresponding spike and include a raised and/or recessed feature to assist in removal of the cap from the cassette. A solution line cap may include a hole and recess, groove or other feature to engage with a spike cap and enable removal of the cap.

A channel-less microfluidic pump includes a cartridge including a substrate and an actuatable film layer disposed on the substrate, and a manifold having at least three actuatable void volumes separated by a plurality of wall sections and an actuatable flexible layer disposed on the manifold interfacing the actuatable film layer. In operation, the pump can be in an unactuated state wherein the actuatable film layer is disposed against the surface of the substrate or an actuated state wherein at least a portion of the flexible layer and a corresponding portion of the actuatable film layer are deflected into a corresponding void volume thus forming a fluidic volume between the deflected portion of the actuatable film layer and the surface of the substrate. In the actuated state, there is a fluidic gap between immediately adjacent void volumes formed by a thinned region of the flexible layer at a point of contact with a top surface of a wall section. A method of transporting fluid using the channel-less microfluidic pump is described.

This invention concerns a contractile device. The device includes a body, which has a wall including a tessellation of elements. The body is deformable through pressurisation of fluid within the body between a first, extended state and a second, contracted state in which the axial length of the body is reduced and the internal volume increased compared to the first, normal state. The tessellation of elements includes a series of protruding and intruding formations which are arranged such that the body remains substantially cylindrical through its deformation between its normal and deformed states. The protruding and intruding formations of the tessellation of elements may be in the form of protruding and intruding pyramids.

A fluid flow pump comprising a suction inlet, a discharge outlet, and a movable part inside the chamber. The pump includes circular first upstream and downstream lips such that: over a first portion of the movement of said movable part in the chamber, the circular first upstream lip then allowing free passage for fluid between the first space and the suction inlet; and that over a second portion of said movement, the circular first upstream lip provides sealing preventing fluid from passing to the suction inlet, the circular first downstream lip allowing fluid to pass from the first space to said discharge outlet and preventing fluid from passing to said first space.

A diaphragm 30 includes a fixed portion 32 to be fixed to a body portion 10, and a flexible thin film portion 33 integrally connected to the fixed portion 32. The fixed portion 32 has a tubular press-fitting portion 34 to be press-fitted into a tubular sealing groove 15 formed on the body portion 10, and a diaphragm-side tapered surface 38 formed on an axis C side with respect to the press-fitting portion 34. In a state where the press-fitting portion 34 is press-fitted into the sealing groove 15, an inclination angle θ1 of the diaphragm-side tapered surface 38 relative to the axis C is smaller than an inclination angle θ2 of a body-side tapered surface 18 formed on the body portion 10 relative to the axis C, and an end portion 38a of the diaphragm-side tapered surface 38 is brought into contact with the body-side tapered surface 18.

A pump assembly includes a housing having two parts with internal cylindrical chambers having openings for the inlet and outlet of a pumped fluid, and two longitudinally deformable bellows fastened inside the respective parts of the housing. The opposite end of each bellows has a plug. On the end surface of the housing the bellows are connected to is an opening for the inlet of a working fluid into the corresponding internal chamber. A hydraulic system for controlling the pump assembly includes a tank containing a working fluid, a positive displacement pump, two independent hydraulic pipelines, and a system of valves for alternately connecting the bellows' internal chambers containing working fluid to the pipelines. The internal chamber of each bellows is alternatingly connected to the positive displacement pump for supplying working fluid by a first hydraulic pipeline and to the working fluid tank by a second hydraulic pipeline.