A venous reservoir including a single inlet line clamp capable of partially or completely restricting blood flow to the venous reservoir. The venous reservoir is provided with a rigid back plate or bracket that can accommodate an inlet line capable of joining to at least one blood inlet port. The rigid back plate or bracket can accommodate a clamp capable of completely or partially closing the inlet line containing both the cardiotomy line and the venous line to manually control the blood flow drained from the patient.

A method for collecting and washing shed blood includes providing a blood salvage reservoir and a blood salvage system. The user may connect a vacuum inlet port on the reservoir to a vacuum outlet port on the salvage system, connect an inlet port on the reservoir to a patient, and connect a vacuum source to a vacuum connection port on the salvage system. The method may then (1) draw a vacuum on the reservoir to draw shed blood into the reservoir, (2) disconnect the reservoir from the surgical field and salvage system, and (3) connect a second reservoir. The first blood salvage reservoir may then be connected to an automated blood processing system, and the collected blood may be introducing into the automated blood processing system and washed. The blood processing system may then return a portion of the washed blood to the patient.

According to some embodiments, a system may treat blood outside the body of a patient. The system may include at least one toxin removal system configured to process blood from at least two places on the patient's body at a rate, for example, of at least 0.5 liters per minute. The system may be configured to raise the pH level of the patient's blood by introducing a fluid at rate of at least 9 liters per hour.

For the administering of medicaments, an adapter is provided for connection to a haemodialysis tube set, which makes possible the direct connection of a standard injection vial to the extracorporeal circuit, avoiding the introduction of air into the circuit. The adapter has two conduit pathways. The conduit pathway for the application of medicament contains a gas-blocking element. The second conduit pathway serves for the aeration of the injection vial.

A control system is provided to restrict the flow rate of blood in a venous line 12 of a perfusion system 1 comprising a reservoir 10 supplied by the venous line 12 and supplying an outgoing line 22. The control system comprises an outgoing flow sensor 32 configured to determine an outgoing flow value indicative of the outgoing flow rate in the outgoing line 22, and a controller configured to process the outgoing flow value and to determine if the outgoing flow value exceeds a pre-set pairing threshold. The system further comprises an adjustable restriction 28 for restricting the flow rate in the venous line 12 to maintain a venous flow rate that does not exceed a venous restriction threshold, wherein the adjustable restriction 28 is responsive to the controller and wherein the controller comprises a configuration allowing the controller to set the adjustable restriction at the level of the outgoing flow rate, to change the venous restriction threshold with the outgoing flow rate, if the outgoing flow value is above the pre-set pairing threshold.

The invention relates to a blood treatment device comprising an attachment unit 7 for attaching a functional unit 1 intended for single use for carrying out the blood treatment. The blood treatment device according to the invention is characterised by a monitoring unit 8 for monitoring the operability and/or the operating state of the functional unit 1, which functional unit comprises at least one light transmitter 17A, 18A and at least one light receiver 17B, 18B. The light transmitter and light receiver are arranged in the monitoring unit 8 according to the invention on one side of the functional unit 1. The arrangement of the light transmitter and light receiver on the same side has the advantage that the monitoring unit 8 can be integrated into the attachment unit 7 of the blood treatment device without any major structural modifications. The monitoring of the functional unit 1 is based on an optical measurement method in which the light reflected on a part of the functional unit 1 or a part of the attachment unit 7 is detected. A calculation- and evaluation unit 13 is configured such that conclusions can be drawn as to a defective state and/or a certain operating state of the functional unit 1 based on the intensity of the light falling on the functional unit and the light reflected on the functional unit or the attachment unit.

The invention relates to a method of purging gas bubbles from a target zone of an extracorporeal blood circuit of a dialysis machine, wherein the target zone is flowed through by flushing liquid which enters into the target zone through an inflow and exits it again through an outflow, wherein the inflow differs from the arterial port and the outflow differs from the venous port of the extracorporeal blood circuit. The invention furthermore relates to a dialysis machine having an extracorporeal blood circuit and a control unit, with the extracorporeal blood circuit having an inflow and an outflow for flushing liquid, with the inflow differing from the arterial port and the outflow differing from the venous port of the extracorporeal blood circuit, and with the control unit being configured to carry out a method in accordance with the invention. The invention furthermore relates to a disposable for the dialysis treatment, wherein the disposable comprises an arterial line, elements of a blood pump, a dialyzer and a venous line, wherein the disposable has an interface for the inflow of flushing liquid in the arterial line and an interface for the outflow of flushing liquid in the venous line, and wherein the interface for the inflow differs from the arterial port and the interface for the outflow differs from the venous port of the hose set.

An airtrap for a medical or physiological fluid in one embodiment includes a conical housing having a radius that increases from its top to its bottom when the housing is positioned for operation; a medical or physiological fluid inlet located at an upper portion of the conical housing; a medical or physiological fluid outlet located at a lower portion of the conical housing, the inlet and the outlet positioned and arranged so that medical or physiological fluid spirals in an increasing arc around an inside of the conical housing downwardly from the inlet to the outlet; and a gas collection area located at an upper portion of the conical housing. In another embodiment, the airtrap is shaped like a seahorse having a head section and a tail section. Any of the airtraps herein may be used for example in blood sets, peritoneal dialysis cassette tubing, and drug delivery sets.

A drain cassette for a dialysis unit has a fluid channel between venous and arterial connection ports, and a valve may controllably open and close fluid communication between a drain outlet port and the venous connection port or the arterial connection port. A blood circuit assembly and drain cassette may be removable from the dialysis unit, e.g., by hand and without the use of tools. A blood circuit assembly may include a single, unitary member that defines portions of a pair of blood pumps, control valves, channels to accurately position flexible tubing for an occluder, an air trap support, and/or other portions of the assembly. A blood circuit assembly engagement device may assist with retaining a blood circuit assembly on the dialysis unit, and/or with removal of the assembly. An actuator may operate a retainer element and an ejector element that interact with the assembly.

An flow meter includes a coupler, a support member, an image sensor, and one or more processors. The coupler is adapted to couple to a drip chamber. The support member is operatively coupled to the coupler. The image sensor has a field of view and is operatively coupled to the support member. The image sensor is positioned to view the drip chamber within its field of view. The one or more processors are operatively coupled to the image sensor to receive data thereform. The one or more processors (1) receive image data from the image sensor, and (2) determine an existence of a free flow condition by identifying an optical distortion of an area behind the free flow condition within the drip chamber using the received image data.