A hemodialysis system includes: a hemodialysis machine configured to provide hemodialysis treatment to a patient, wherein the hemodialysis treatment includes circulating extracorporeal blood of the patient through an extracorporeal blood circuit; a first oxygen saturation sensor device configured to measure oxygen saturation corresponding to the extracorporeal blood of the patient in the extracorporeal blood circuit; a second oxygen saturation sensor device configured to measure oxygen saturation corresponding to blood flowing within the patient; and at least one controller configured to determine one or more oxygen saturation phase shift (OSPS) values or one or more transcutaneous travel time values corresponding to the patient based on oxygen saturation measurements from the first oxygen saturation sensor device and the second oxygen saturation sensor device.

The invention relates to veterinary science. An extrarenal blood purification procedure is performed to remove toxins from the blood. Baseline parameters of urea and creatinine in the blood serum are measured during the blood purification procedure; on the basis of the data obtained, a dialysis intensity index (DII) is determined as the ratio of the patient's total fluid volume to the volume of the fluid purified of toxins and a uremic toxin accumulation index (UTAI) is determined as the rate of accumulation of the quantity of urea or creatinine per unit of time. Moreover, it is deemed necessary to repeat the hemodialysis procedure if the UTAI value for urea is more than 0.5 and/or the UTAI value for creatinine is more than 8, and/or the DII value is less than 0.9.

Dialysis systems are disclosed comprising new fluid flow circuits. Systems may include blood and dialysate flow paths, where the dialysate flow path includes balancing, mixing, and/or directing circuits. Dialysate preparation may be decoupled from patient dialysis. Circuits may be defined within one or more cassettes. The fluid circuit fluid flow paths may be isolated from electrical components. A gas supply in fluid communication with the dialysate flow path and/or the dialyzer able to urge dialysate through the dialyzer and urge blood back to the patient may be included for certain emergency situations. Fluid handling devices, such as pumps, valves, and mixers that can be actuated using a control fluid may be included. Control fluid may be delivered by an external pump or other device, which may be detachable and/or generally rigid, optionally with a diaphragm dividing the device into first and second compartments.

The present disclosure relates to a method for removing blood and/or blood mixture from an extracorporeal blood circuit with a blood filter used for the blood treatment of a patient, after completing the blood treatment session. The blood filter includes a blood chamber and a spent dialysate chamber, between which a membrane is arranged. The blood chamber is connected to an arterial blood line, a venous blood line, a dialysis inlet line, and a dialysate outlet line. The venous blood line is fluidly connected to the dialysis inlet. The method includes displacing the blood and/or the blood mixture from the blood chamber by introducing substituate into the arterial blood line, and generating a pressure difference in the blood filter with a lower pressure in the spent dialysate chamber and a higher pressure in the blood chamber.

A demand-adapting and auto-regulatory ECMO system and method is disclosed that may be configured to provide complete cardiopulmonary replacement. The system and method employ a blood gas exchanger having a blood inlet, a blood outlet, a gas inlet, and a gas outlet, an oxygen sensor positioned to detect oxyhemoglobin saturation at the blood inlet, and a carbon dioxide sensor positioned to detect exhaust gas CO2 concentration at the gas outlet. A controller communicates with the oxygen sensor and the carbon dioxide sensor and controls blood flow and gas flow through the blood gas exchanger in response to a sensed oxygen level by the oxygen sensor and a sensed carbon dioxide level by the carbon dioxide sensor, in turn maintaining the sensed oxygen level and the sensed carbon dioxide level within a pre-designated range of values to maintain a patients metabolic requirements.

A portable arm support can be secured to an arm of a patient, for instance during a medical procedure (e.g., filtration of blood of the patient). The arm support can inhibit movement of the arm of the patient in one or more degrees of freedom (e.g., elevation, abduction, adduction, flexion, or the like). In some examples, the arm support includes a cuff and abase. In another example, the arm support includes an elongated member. In yet another example, the arm support includes a constricting band. The arm support can help maintain blood flow in the arm of the patient, and can help protect a catheter inserted into the arm of the patient (or protect other medical equipment proximate to the patient).

An extracorporeal blood cooling or heating circuit includes an intravenous catheter for withdrawing a patient's blood coupled to a combined pump/heat exchanger device. One or more sensors are provided upstream and/or downstream of the pump/heat exchanger device for measuring pressure, temperature, fluid flow, blood oxygenation, and other parameters, A controller is operative!}′ coupled to the pump/heat exchanger device and the one or more sensors to control the speed of the pump inside the pump/heat exchanger device and regulate the blood temperature by controlling the operation of the heat exchanger. The combined pump/heat exchanger device includes a housing having at least one inlet and at least one outlet, a pump portion defining a blood circuit inside the housing, and a heat exchanger portion contained within the housing for selectively heating or cooling the blood.

Systems and methods are provided for performing a medical procedure within a patient's body that involves a thoracic duct including an ostium communicating with the patient's venous system. A distal end of a catheter is introduced through the patient's venous system into a body lumen adjacent the ostium of the thoracic duct. An expandable member on the distal end of the tubular member may be expanded adjacent the ostium, e.g., within the body lumen or the thoracic duct itself, and used to isolate the thoracic duct from the body lumen, whereupon a medical procedure may be performed via the thoracic duct. For example, lymphatic fluid may be removed from the thoracic duct through a lumen of the tubular member and/or one or more agents may be introduced into the thoracic duct through the tubular member.

An extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus is provided comprising a filtration unit (2) connected to a blood circuit (17) and to a dialysis fluid circuit (32), a preparation device (9) for preparing and regulating the composition of the dialysis fluid; a control unit (12) is configured for determining or receiving a proposed value (Cond.sub.prop) of a conductivity for the dialysis fluid in the dialysis supply line (8) and to determine a set value (Cond.sub.set) for the conductivity in the dialysis fluid as a function of the proposed value (Cond.sub.prop) and as a function of at least one of a second parameter (UF volume/W; WL/W) indicative of a patient fluid overload and a third parameter (g.sub.conc) chosen in the group including: a glucose concentration in the patient and a concentration-related parameter of at least glucose in the patient.

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.