The present invention relates to an apparatus for regenerating a dialysis solution, wherein the apparatus has a first circuit and a second circuit, with the first circuit having a container for receiving the consumed dialysis solution, the primary side of a filter connected downstream of the container, and a return line from the primary side of the filter into the container, with the filter being configured to prepare purified water from the consumed dialysis solution, and with the second circuit having the secondary side of the filter, the dialyzate side of a dialyzer, and a return line from the dialyzate side of the dialyzer into the container. The present invention further relates to a method of regenerating a dialysis solution.

A perfusion system includes a fluid reservoir configured to hold a portion of fluid, the portion of fluid having a volume, the fluid reservoir having a total capacity that is greater than the volume; an imaging device, the imaging device configured to obtain image data corresponding to the fluid reservoir; and a controller. The controller is configured to receive the image data from the imaging device; determine the volume based on the image data; and facilitate control, in response to at least one of a user input and the determined volume of the portion of fluid, of an operating parameter corresponding to the fluid reservoir to facilitate changing or maintaining the volume of the portion of the fluid.

The preset invention discloses an artificial heart and lung apparatus (100) including a roller pump (120); a blood removal line (101); a first blood transfer line (104); a blood removal rate sensor (111) and a control unit (140) that performs linked control of the roller pump (120) in correspondence with a blood removal rate. The control unit (140) is capable of detecting that the blood removal rate deviates from a blood removal condition set in advance, and out-of-set condition blood removal is performed.

A blood treatment air purging system and method includes a level detector positioned and arranged to detect a low fluid level in a blood circuit indicating a high amount of air in the blood circuit; a blood pump operable with the blood circuit; a venous patient line of the blood circuit; and at least one blood circuit air vent valve, wherein the system and method are configured or programmed to (i) stop the blood pump, (ii) close the venous patient line, and (iii) open the at least one blood circuit air vent valve to atmosphere or a container when the low fluid level is detected, and (iv) run the blood pump to meter air through the at least one blood circuit air vent valve to atmosphere or the container.

An artificial heart and lung apparatus includes a roller pump; a blood removal line; a first blood transfer line; a blood removal rate sensor; a control unit that performs the linked control of the roller pump in correspondence with a blood removal rate; and a blood transfer rate adjustment unit that instructs the roller pump to transfer a blood transfer rate. The blood transfer rate adjustment unit includes an operation amount input unit to which an operation amount from an arbitrary circumferential position can be input, and which outputs a pulse signal according to the input operation amount. A counter adds and subtracts pulse signals output from the operation amount input unit, and outputs a resultant as blood transfer rate adjustment data. The counter performs a counting operation with respect to the circumferential position of the operation amount input unit when blood transfer control transitions to the normal control.

A fluid filtration system comprising a cross-flow filter is arranged to permit a first pump to recirculate part of the retentate of the filter to the inlet of the cross-flow filter and a second pump to return part of the permeate to the inlet of the cross-flow filter. A third pump is configured supply source fluid to the inlet of the filter. The flow path between the second pump and the cross-flow filter inlet may include an adsorption filter that may selectively remove contaminants, toxins, or pathogens in the permeate. A controller may control the first, second and third pumps to provide predetermined flow ratios among the fluid flow paths of the system in order to achieve a desired filtration level. This system may be applicable to the removal of harmful substances from blood, by first separating the plasma from the blood and then removing harmful substances from the plasma.

The present invention relates to methods of prognosing the survival of a diseased subject, particularly a subject with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as selecting an end-stage renal disease subject for a kidney transplant. The methods involve detecting an elevated amount of macrophage inhibitory cytoking-1 (MID-1) in a test body sample from the diseased subject. A method of preventing or reducing the risk of death in a CKD subject which involves removing or inactivating MIC-1 present in the blood, plasma or serum of the subject, is also disclosed.

An extracorporeal circulation apparatus including a blood circuit including an arterial blood circuit and a venous blood circuit whose proximal ends are connected to a blood purifier, the blood circuit allowing a patient's blood to extracorporeally circulate from a distal end of the arterial blood circuit to a distal end of the venous blood circuit; a discharge unit through which a priming solution supplied into the blood circuit is discharged to an outside; a negative-pressure-generating unit that generates a negative pressure in a region of the blood circuit, the region being filled with the priming solution; and a control unit that controls the negative-pressure-generating unit. The control unit executes a priming step in which the priming solution supplied into the blood circuit is discharged through the discharge unit while a flow route in the blood circuit is filled with the priming solution; a negative-pressure-generating step in which, after the priming step, a negative pressure is generated in the region by the negative-pressure-generating unit; and a discharge step in which bubbles in the region subjected to the negative pressure generated in the negative-pressure-generating step are caused to flow and are discharged through the discharge unit.

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.

Flow rate of a blood delivery pump of a blood treatment apparatus is determined and adjusted by connecting a fluid filled container with an extracorporeal blood line of the blood treatment apparatus, performing a priming step to prime the extracorporeal blood line by driving the blood delivery pump at a predetermined theoretical delivery rate to deliver fluid from the filled container into the extracorporeal blood line, determining the loss of fluid of the fluid filled container due to delivery of fluid into the extracorporeal blood line during priming, and determining a correction factor by comparison of a value for an amount of fluid delivered under the theoretical delivery rate with a value for the amount of fluid actually delivered.