A technology that provides various modular biomimetic microfluidic modules emulating varieties of microvasculature in body. These microfluidic-base capillaries and lymphatic Technology modules are constructed as multilayered-microfluidic microchannels of various shapes, and aspect ratios using diverse biocompatible microfluidic polymers. Then, various semipermeable membranes are sandwiched in between these multilayered microfluidic microchannels. These membranes have different chemical, physical characteristics and MWCO values. Consequently, this design will produce much smaller dimension channels similar to human vasculature to achieve biomimetic properties like of human organs and tissues. By interchanging microfluidic-layers or the membranes various diverse modules are designed that act as building blocks for constructing various medical devices, various forms of dialysis devices including albumin and lipid dialysis, water purification, bioreactors bio-artificial organ support systems. Connecting various modules in diverse combinations, permutations, in parallel ad/or in series to ultimately design many unrelated medical devices such as dialysis, bioreactors and organ support devices.

An oxygenator unit adapted for the use in an extracorporeal blood treatment device. The oxygenator unit includes an oxygenator having a gas inlet and a supply line for conducting a gas provided at the gas inlet, the supply line being connectable to a source of a pressurized gas containing oxygen, wherein the oxygenator unit further includes a pressure relief valve provided in the supply line upstream of the oxygenator, the pressure relief valve being adapted to release pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure value from the supply line, thereby preventing a critical overpressure in the oxygenator.

An apparatus for treating blood with veno-venous access comprising: a blood circuit (C1, C2) provided with an inlet branch (C3) and an outlet branch (C4), an oxygenator (OX), a blood pump (P) adapted for drawing blood from the patient and returning it to the patient at a first blood flow value. The blood pump (P) is a volumetric peristaltic pump; the blood circuit (C1, C2) comprises a high-speed portion (C1) and a recirculation circuit (C2); the apparatus (100) comprises at least one pressure measuring means (PA; PR; PP), as well as automatic flow regulation means (FD) acting on the recirculation circuit to determine a second blood flow value in the same recirculation circuit (C2) so that in the high speed portion (C1) the flow value is the sum of said first and second flow values.

The present invention concerns an extracorporeal circuit for removing CO.sub.2 from blood comprising a blood withdrawal line for withdrawing blood from the patient, a filtration unit for producing plasma water and a line for returning the blood to the patient, defining a main circuit; the extracorporeal circuit further comprises a decarbonating group comprising a secondary circuit for the recirculation of plasma water, means for removing a fraction of said plasma water, a CO.sub.2 exchanger, a cationic resin charged with H+ ions set upstream of the CO.sub.2 exchanger and adapted to generate acid plasma water, means for the infusion of the acid plasma water upstream of the CO.sub.2 exchanger and means for the infusion of ions in a solution downstream of the CO.sub.2 exchanger.

A device for the measurement of carbon dioxide in a working gas comprises: a tubular body inside which a working gas is conveyed; at least one emitter of an optical signal arranged at the tubular body; at least one receiver of the optical signal arranged at the tubular body on the opposite side of the emitter; heating unit arranged at least one of the emitter and the receiver; wherein the device comprises at least one temperature sensor positioned in the proximity of the heating unit, at least one control unit operatively connected to the emitter, to the receiver, to the heating unit and to the sensor, the control circuit unit comprising correction unit which are configured to correct the value of the optical signal detected by the receiver depending on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor.

Certain embodiments of the invention are directed to methods of adjusting the concentration of one or more electrolytes in a patients blood using a counter current electrolyte solution.

An extracorporeal blood heating and cooling system that is connectable to an oxygenator of a cardiopulmonary bypass system, the heating and cooling system comprising: a heater-cooler unit; a coolant flow circuit that is configured to pass coolant through the heater-cooler unit and the oxygenator; and a cardioplegia coolant circuit that is configured to pass coolant through the heater-cooler unit and a cardioplegia heat exchanger; wherein when the heating and cooling system is in a purging mode, the coolant flow circuit and the cardioplegia coolant circuit contain temperature-controlled coolant having a trisodium phosphate concentration of about 1-35 millimole/liter; wherein when the heating and cooling system is in a coolant mode, the coolant flow circuit and the cardioplegia coolant circuit contain temperature-controlled coolant having a trisodium phosphate concentration of about 1-10 millimole/liter; and wherein when the heating and cooling system is in the coolant mode or the purging mode, a first and second plurality of coolant conduits within the oxygenator and the cardioplegia heat exchanger are capable of maintaining a trisodium phosphate concentration ratio across the wall of such coolant conduits of at least 100:1, from the interior to the exterior of each coolant conduit. Methods of purging and operating such extracorporeal blood heating and cooling systems are also disclosed.

An artificial lung system for a patient having a membrane lung system having an gas inlet, a blood inlet, a blood outlet, and an exhaust; a gas system operably coupled to the gas inlet of the membrane lung system; a gas phase CO.sub.2 sensor disposed downstream of the exhaust of the membrane lung system and monitoring an exhaust gas CO.sub.2 (EGCO.sub.2) level and/or an blood oxygen saturation sensor disposed upstream of the blood inlet of the membrane lung system and monitoring a blood oxygen saturation level; and a feedback controller receiving the CO.sub.2 signal and/or blood oxygen saturation signal and outputting a control signal to control gas flow and/or blood flow.

A pump head is provided. The pump head includes a casing including a blood inlet configured to receive a flow of a blood and a blood outlet configured to allow the blood to flow out of the casing. The pump head also includes a shaft disposed in the casing. The pump head also includes a magnetic structure mounted onto the shaft. The pump head further includes an impeller having an open structure and mounted to an exterior surface of the magnetic structure through an opening provided at the open structure.

This document describes stepper motor drive systems. The stepper motor drive systems can be used in many different applications including, for example, to drive a stepper motor of an occluder device in association with a heart-lung machine.