An artificial, extracorporeal system for liver replacement and/or assistance, comprises a liver dialysis device for conducting hemodialysis on a patient suffering from liver failure. The liver dialysis device comprises a first standard hollow fiber membrane dialyzer which does not allow passage of an essential amount of albumin over the membrane wall and which is perfused with the patient's blood, and a second hollow fiber membrane dialyzer which allows the passage of essential but defined amounts of albumin over the membrane wall and which receives the blood of the first standard hemodialyzer. The filtrate space is closed off from the lumen space of the hollow fibers and is populated by adsorbent material which may comprise one or more different adsorbents.

A filter for purifying blood (1, 100), comprising a container body (2, 102) in which there are: an intake port (3, 103) for an incoming blood stream (4, 104), a first discharge port (5, 105) for an outgoing blood stream (6, 106), and a second discharge port (7, 107) for a purified plasma stream (8, 108); the container body (2, 102) comprises first filtering means (9, 109) adapted to separate a stream of plasma to be purified (10, 100) from the incoming blood stream (4, 104), and second filtering means (11, 111) adapted to purify the stream of plasma to be purified (10, 110) to obtain the purified plasma stream (8, 108).

An extracorporeal system for liver dialysis comprises a filter device having hollow fibers with integrated ion-exchange particles and hydrophobic adsorbent particles in the filtrate space. The system can be used for the treatment of acute liver failure and acute-on-chronic liver failure.

A filter apparatus, a method for the manufacture of the filter apparatus, the use of the filter apparatus in medical, chemical and/or biotechnological applications, and an apparatus for use in the manufacture of the filter apparatus. The filter apparatus has a cylindrical housing and a plurality of hollow fibers. The hollow fibers are combined to form a bundle in the housing and are embedded and held in each case at the end sides in a molding compound. The filtrate space is filled with particles of a chemically or physically active substance.

A method for filtering blood is disclosed that in one embodiment includes the steps of depositing unfiltered blood along at least one side of a semi-permeable surface having multiple pores, depositing target tissue along at least an opposing side of the semi-permeable surface, and permitting the unfiltered blood to flow at least partially along the semi-permeable surface to filter the unfiltered blood. Embodiments of the invention can remove self-directed autoantibodies from the blood while reducing the complications of conventional treatments such as plasmaphoresis, and return the patient's own blood cells and its plasma components, less the disease-causing self-directed antibodies. A blood filter and a blood bag are also disclosed.

The device described herein converges the plasma separation function of a hollow-fiber plasmapheresis device with a formulation or cocktail of two or more adsorbent components housed in the extra-lumen space (outside the fiber walls, yet inside the outer shell of the plasmapheresis device) to optimize the adsorption of viral pathogens, shed viral proteins and viral exosomes (collectively known as the Viral Targets) in a low-shear force environment without interacting with blood cells.

A device includes (i) a housing defining an interior, wherein the interior has a blood compartment, a plasma compartment, and a fluid compartment; (ii) a first filter disposed in the interior of the housing, and (iii) a second filter disposed in the interior of the housing. The first filter separates at least a portion of the blood compartment from at least a portion of the plasma compartment. The first filter is configured to allow plasma components, but not cell components, of blood to pass through the first filter from the blood compartment to the plasma compartment. The second filter separates at least a portion of the plasma compartment from at least a portion of the fluid compartment. The second filter is configured to allow fluid and small molecules, but not larger components, to pass through the second filter from the plasma compartment to the fluid compartment. The device may include a sorbent in the plasma compartment to remove or reduce the concentration of selected components of the plasma. In embodiments, a system including the device includes a sorbent with which the plasma may be contacted.

Provided is a multi-functional filter including a first filter and a second filter to purify a biological fluid, a housing defining an adsorption section outside of the first filter and the second filter, a flow partitioning connector connecting the first filter and the second filter, and a housing port allowing a fluid to flow through the adsorption section. The housing may comprise a wall, a first cap coupled to the first filter at one end of the wall along a longitudinal direction, and a second cap coupled to the second filter at the other end of the wall along a longitudinal direction. The multi-functional filter according to the present invention in which dialysis, adsorption, and plasma separation or ultrafiltration are integrated to purify blood or dialysate and the internal flow is facilitated may provide a blood purifying apparatus that simplifies the whole apparatus, provides convenience in installation and use, and reduces a treatment cost.

The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, and method for separating components of a fluid, e.g. blood, which eliminates the need for expensive hardware and produces a stabilized waste product. The system comprises an apparatus or device (V) for separating components of a fluid (15) comprising a container (5) having at least one separation or filtration member (10) capable of selectively separating or filtering at least one component from the fluid, and a superabsorbent material (20) capable of absorbing the at least one component separated from the fluid, and thereby providing a processed fluid free or substantially free of said at least one component; and agitation means.

Provided is a multi-functional filter including a first filter and a second filter to purify a biological fluid, a housing defining an adsorption section outside of the first filter and the second filter, a flow partitioning connector connecting the first filter and the second filter, and a housing port allowing a fluid to flow through the adsorption section. The housing may comprise a wall, a first cap coupled to the first filter at one end of the wall along a longitudinal direction, and a second cap coupled to the second filter at the other end of the wall along a longitudinal direction. The multi-functional filter according to the present invention in which dialysis, adsorption, and plasma separation or ultrafiltration are integrated to purify blood or dialysate and the internal flow is facilitated may provide a blood purifying apparatus that simplifies the whole apparatus, provides convenience in installation and use, and reduces a treatment cost.