A blood purification apparatus includes a blood circuit through which blood of a patient extracorporeally circulate, and a dialyzer that purifies the blood flowing in the blood circuit. The apparatus includes a pressure-change-producing device capable of applying a positive pressure or a negative pressure to distal portions of the blood circuit while an arterial puncture needle (a) and a venous puncture needle (b) are yet to be connected to the blood circuit, a pressure-change-detecting device capable of detecting pressure changes in the distal portions of the blood circuit that occur when the distal portions of the blood circuit that are under the positive pressure or the negative pressure applied by the pressure-change-producing device are connected to the arterial puncture needle (a) and the venous puncture needle (b) that are stuck in the patient, and an evaluation device capable of evaluating a state of sticking of the arterial puncture needle (a) and the venous puncture needle (b) on the basis of the pressure changes detected by the pressure-change-detecting device.

A hemodialysis system comprising: a source of priming fluid; an extracorporeal circuit including an arterial line, a venous line, and a drip chamber; a level sensor operable with the drip chamber; a reversible blood pump operable with the extracorporeal circuit; a connection between the arterial and the venous line; and a priming sequence in which priming fluid from the source is pumped in a reverse pump direction through the extracorporeal circuit and reversibly in a normal pump direction through the extracorporeal circuit, wherein an output from the level sensor is used to determine when to stop pumping in at least one of the directions.

Dialysis systems that remove air from a blood circuit are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a dialysis system includes a dialysis fluid circuit, a blood circuit including an arterial line, a venous line, and an enclosure in fluid communication with the venous line, the enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent for priming the blood circuit, a blood pump configured to pump fluid through at least the arterial line, a first valve operable with the arterial line and a second valve operable with the venous line, and a pumping and valving algorithm operated after priming to remove air from the blood circuit to control the first and second valves and the blood pump to replace priming fluid with blood from a patient.

A renal therapy system includes: a filter; an arterial blood flowpath in fluid communication with the filter; a venous blood flowpath in fluid communication with the filter; a renal therapy fluid flowpath in fluid communication with the filter; first and second renal therapy fluid pumps; a plurality of valve actuators; and a dialysis fluid cassette including a plurality of valve portions configured to operate with the plurality of valve actuators so that (i) the first renal therapy fluid pump pumps renal therapy fluid through the renal therapy fluid flowpath for a number of first pump actuations, and (ii) the second renal therapy fluid pump pumps renal therapy fluid through the renal therapy fluid flowpath for a number of second pump actuations.

A connector arrangement (10) for connecting to a fluid chamber (6) of a blood treatment unit (4) for extracorporeal blood treatments. The connector arrangement (10) includes a connector device (11) with a connector body (47) comprising a port opening (43) and an interior wall (50) defining a port space (39) designed to receive a first fluid port (8A) of the fluid chamber (6). The connector device (11) also incorporates a fluid path (35a) extending from the port space (39) to a first end opening (51) of the connector device (11), and an air path (36a) extending from the port space (39) to a second end opening (52) of the connector device (11), wherein the fluid path (35a) and the air path (36a) are separate paths. Also a system (1) for extracorporeal blood treatment including the connector arrangement (10) and a method for priming the fluid chamber (6).

A blood volume sensor system including a container defining a blood volume reservoir, a volume sensor configured to monitor the blood volume reservoir and output data corresponding to a volume of blood contained in the blood volume reservoir, and a digital computing device in communication with the volume sensor and configured to receive the output data regarding the volume of blood contained in the blood volume reservoir. The volume sensor being a gravimetric sensor, an optical sensor, a contact imaging sensor, a camera sensor, or a time of flight sensor. The system additionally including an oxygenator attached to the blood volume reservoir. The system being configured to be incorporated into a surgical pack of a heart lung machine to monitor the blood volume reservoir in real time to reflect a circulating blood volume of a patient.

A blood treatment device for extracorporeal blood treatment and a method for monitoring the fill level of blood with the blood treatment device. The device includes at least one blood conducting system and at least one chamber container for separating bubbles from the blood to be treated. The device further includes a blood pumping device designed to pump the blood and generate pressure pulses with a predefined frequency in the blood conducting system. The blood treatment device additionally has at least one pressure detection sensor for capturing the pressure pulse introduced by the blood pumping device and a data processing unit designed to derive a fill level parameter from the pressure pulse captured and to modify the state of an information signal as a function of the fill level parameter. At least one alarm device is activated as a function of the state of the information signal.

An apparatus is described for extracorporeal blood treatment, comprising a treatment unit, an extracorporeal blood circuit and a fluid evacuation line. The apparatus comprises a control unit connected to a pressure sensor and a blood pump, the blood pump generating a variable flow with a constant component and a variable component. The control unit receives, from the pressure sensor, a plurality of values and calculates the average pressure value, acquires an estimated value of volume variation in the expansion chamber connected to the variable flow component, calculates, as a function of the pressure values, an estimated value of pressure variation in the expansion chamber that is representative of an oscillating pressure component and determines a representative magnitude of a blood level in the expansion chamber as a function of the average pressure value, the estimated value of volume variation and the estimated pressure variation in the expansion chamber.

Apparatus and methods for providing extracorporeal blood circulation and oxygenation control include multi-stage de-airing of blood to provide automated cardiopulmonary replacement to preserve the viability or one or more organs in a clinically dead organ donor or harvested donor organ for subsequent transplantation to an organ receiver patient.

An apparatus is described for extracorporeal blood treatment, comprising a treatment unit, an extracorporeal blood circuit and a fluid evacuation line. The apparatus comprises a control unit connected to a pressure sensor and configured to move a blood pump, generating a variable flow with a constant component equal to a desired blood flow value and a variable component having a nil mean value; the variable flow generates, in the expansion chamber, a pressure progression that is variable over time with a pressure component oscillating about a mean value. The control unit receives a plurality of values over a period of time comprising a plurality of oscillations of the pressure about the mean value, calculates a control value representative of the oscillating pressure component, and then determines the verification or not of a condition of variation of the blood level in the expansion chamber.