Non-invasive heartbeat sensor for determining a heart rate in a conduit of an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus, comprising one source for directing an optical signal towards the blood flowing in the segment; one detector for receiving an optical informative signal comprising the signal emitted by said source after passing the blood, and emitting respective output signal; a controller receiving the respective output signal and retrieving a heartbeat frequency and a heart rate value, based on the output signal, wherein the informative signal is altered by flow perturbation of the blood partially generated by the flow impulses originated by the heart.

Non-invasive heartbeat sensor for determining a heart rate in a conduit of an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus, comprising one source for directing an optical signal towards the blood flowing in the segment; one detector for receiving an optical informative signal comprising the signal emitted by said source after passing the blood, and emitting respective output signal; a controller receiving the respective output signal and retrieving a heartbeat frequency and a heart rate value, based on the output signal, wherein the informative signal is altered by flow perturbation of the blood partially generated by the flow impulses originated by the heart.

A hemodialysis patient data acquisition and management system resides on a host computer which receives information from one or more non-invasive, optical blood monitors associated with a hemodialysis system. When a patient is undergoing hemodialysis treatment, a sensor assembly monitors the patient's blood flowing through the hemodialysis system and a controller for the blood monitor generates data which includes at least an identification code for the patient undergoing the treatment on the respective system, and non-invasively determined blood data taken at the onset of the scheduled treatment, such as initial Hgb, HCT, and SAT values. A host computer communicates with the one or more optical blood monitors, preferably via a wireless network, and the patient's session commencement data is downloaded to the host computer.

A blood circuit assembly for a dialysis unit may include an organizing tray, a pair of pneumatic pumps mounted to the organizing tray for circulating blood received from a patient through a circuit including a dialyzer unit and returned to the patient, an air trap mounted to the organizing tray arranged to remove air from blood circulating in the circuit, a pair of dialyzer connections arranged to connect to the inlet and outlet of a dialyzer unit, and a pair of blood line connectors, one inlet blood line connector for receiving blood from the patient and providing blood to the pneumatic pumps and the other outlet blood line connector for returning blood to the patient.

An extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus is provided comprising a filtration unit connected to a blood circuit and to a dialysate circuit, a preparation device for preparing and regulating the composition of the dialysis fluid; a control unit is configured for setting a sodium concentration value for the dialysis fluid in the dialysis supply line at a set point based on the physician prescription; starting from the initial patient plasma conductivity, estimated at the beginning of the treatment, and based on the target plasma conductivity/sodium concentration which is equivalent to the dialysate conductivity/sodium concentration prescribed, the control unit determines the minimum constant gradient between dialysis fluid and plasma conductivity/concentration to be maintained during treatment to achieve the conductivity/concentration target in the patient plasma at the end of the session.

An extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus is provided comprising a filtration unit connected to a blood circuit and to a dialysate circuit, a preparation device for preparing and regulating the composition of the dialysis fluid; a control unit is configured for setting a sodium concentration value for the dialysis fluid in the dialysis supply line at a set point based on the physician prescription; starting from the initial patient plasma conductivity, estimated at the beginning of the treatment, and based on the target plasma conductivity/sodium concentration which is equivalent to the dialysate conductivity/sodium concentration prescribed, the control unit determines the minimum constant gradient between dialysis fluid and plasma conductivity/concentration to be maintained during treatment to achieve the conductivity/concentration target in the patient plasma at the end of the session.

A system includes a dialyzer having a blood side and a dialysate side, a first extracorporeal circuit including one or more first fluid connectors structurally configured to connect the blood side of the dialyzer to the vascular system of a kidney patient, and a second extracorporeal circuit including one or more second fluid connectors structurally configured to connect the dialysate side of the dialyzer to the vascular system of a healthy animal. The present teachings may thus include a system where hemodialysis is performed using a healthy animal (e.g., a person with normal kidney function) to help remove harmful solutes from, and provide helpful solutes to, a kidney patient. In this manner, the healthy animal is “virtually donating” its kidney function to the kidney patient.

Described herein are devices and methods for pumping fluids. The devices may be implanted within a patient or located external to the body of the patient. When employed externally, the devices may be used to deliver various drugs or support hemodialysis, in addition to pumping blood and maintaining blood circulation. The implantable devices may be used in patients in need of circulatory assistance or a replacement heart. Both the implantable and external pump devices may linearly reciprocate a shuttle within a housing to simultaneously move blood into and out of the housing, and rotate the shuttle to selectively direct the movement of fluid into and out of a plurality of ports in the housing.

Described herein are devices and methods for pumping fluids. The devices may be implanted within a patient or located external to the body of the patient. When employed externally, the devices may be used to deliver various drugs or support hemodialysis, in addition to pumping blood and maintaining blood circulation. The implantable devices may be used in patients in need of circulatory assistance or a replacement heart. Both the implantable and external pump devices may linearly reciprocate a shuttle within a housing to simultaneously move blood into and out of the housing, and rotate the shuttle to selectively direct the movement of fluid into and out of a plurality of ports in the housing.

An implantable renal replacement therapy device may include: a first catheter configured to be inserted into a blood vessel in a subject's body; a pump in fluid communication with the first catheter, the pump is configured to pump subject's blood from the blood vessel; a filter in fluid communication with the pump, the filter is configured to: receive the subject's blood from the pump, and filter the received blood to provide a filtered blood and a filtrate liquid, wherein the filter is in fluid communication with the first catheter to cause an outflow of the filtered blood from the filter to the blood vessel; and a second catheter in fluid communication with the filter and configured to be inserted into an urinary bladder in the subject's body to cause an outflow of the filtrate liquid from the filter to the urinary bladder.