A reciprocating positive displacement pump comprises a flexible diaphragm fluidically separating a pumping chamber from an actuation chamber. The membrane may include bumps or other features on the side of the membrane facing the pumping chamber that space at least a portion of the membrane away from the rigid chamber wall when the membrane is in a minimum-pumping-chamber volume position. Such structures may prevent pockets of fluid from being caught away from the inlet and outlet by keeping portions of the membrane spaced away from the rigid pumping chamber wall even when the pumping chamber volume is at a minimum.

A hemodialysis system includes a blood treatment machine, a blood pump housed by the blood treatment machine, a first dialysate pump housed by the blood treatment machine, a second dialysate pump housed by the blood treatment machine; and a fluid cassette including an upper portion and a lower portion. The fluid cassette further includes a blood pumping tube extending from the upper portion to the lower portion of the fluid cassette, a first dialysate pumping tube extending from the upper portion to the lower portion of the fluid cassette, and a second dialysate pumping tube extending from the upper portion to the lower portion of the fluid cassette.

The invention relates to a medical treatment apparatus comprising a tube set 20, a peristaltic pump 6 for conveying fluid, and a monitoring apparatus 15 for monitoring the occlusion of the positive displacement elements 13A, 13B of the peristaltic pump. In addition, the invention relates to a tube set 20 for a medical treatment apparatus, and to a method for monitoring the occlusion of the occlusion elements of a peristaltic pump for conveying a fluid for a medical treatment apparatus. The invention is based on the fact that the occlusion of the positive displacement elements 13A, 13B of the peristaltic pump 6 is monitored in order to monitor the fluid flow in the hose line 5. For this purpose, the electrical resistance or a variable which correlates with the electrical resistance is measured between a first and a second electrode 16A, 16B, the first electrode 16A being arranged on the hose line 5 upstream of the occlusion elements 12 of the peristaltic pump 6 and the second electrode 16b being arranged on the hose line downstream of the occlusion elements such that an electrical contact is produced between the first and second electrode 16A, 16B and the fluid flowing in the hose line 5. The electrodes 16A, 16B are preferably integral component parts of a connecting piece 10, by means of which the hose segment 5A to be inserted into the peristaltic pump 6 is fixed in the form of a loop.

A method for priming a hemodialysis treatment includes: providing a disposable cassette including at least a portion of a dialysate circuit and at least a portion of a blood circuit; placing a dialyzer in fluid communication with the dialysate circuit via a to-dialyzer dialysate line and a from-dialyzer dialysate line; placing the dialyzer in fluid communication with the blood circuit via an arterial blood line and a venous blood line; placing a source of dialysis fluid in fluid communication with the dialyzer; priming the dialysate circuit with dialysis fluid from the source while both the to-dialyzer dialysate line and the from-dialyzer dialysate line are connected at their dialyzer ends to the dialyzer; and priming the blood circuit with dialysis fluid from the source by actuating at least one valve provided by the disposable cassette.

A renal failure therapy machine includes a blood cleaning filter, a dialysis fluid circuit including a balance chamber, the balance chamber including a fresh dialysis fluid compartment configured to send fresh dialysis fluid to the blood cleaning filter and a used dialysis fluid compartment configured to receive used dialysis fluid from the blood cleaning filter, a fresh dialysis fluid line in fluid communication with the fresh dialysis fluid compartment of the balance chamber and the blood cleaning filter, and a flow restrictor in fluid communication with the blood cleaning filter, the flow restrictor configured to cause fresh dialysis fluid delivered from the fresh dialysis fluid compartment, through the fresh dialysis fluid line, to the blood cleaning filter to be pressurized so that a first amount of the fresh dialysis fluid performs convective clearance and a second amount of the fresh dialysis fluid performs diffusive clearance.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to certain types of reciprocating positive-displacement pumps (which may be referred to hereinafter as pods, pump pods, or pod pumps) used to pump fluids, such as a biological fluid (e.g., blood or peritoneal fluid), a therapeutic fluid (e.g., a medication solution), or a surfactant fluid. The pumps may be configured specifically to impart low shear forces and low turbulence on the fluid as the fluid is pumped from an inlet to an outlet. Such pumps may be particularly useful in pumping fluids that may be damaged by such shear forces (e.g., blood, and particularly heated blood, which is prone to hemolysis) or turbulence (e.g., surfactants or other fluids that may foam or otherwise be damaged or become unstable in the presence of turbulence).

The present invention relates to an apparatus for the regulation of at least one filtration value in a machine for the treatment of a medical fluid, in particular in a blood treatment machine, having at least one centrifugal pumping means, to a hemodialysis machine and to a method and to a use therefor.

A dialysis system includes an on-line dialysate generator, a first dialysate pump in fluid communication with the on-line dialysate generator, and a second dialysate pump in fluid communication with the on-line dialysate generator. The dialysis system also includes a dialyzer in fluid communication with the first and second dialysate pumps. The dialysis system further includes a first valve located between the first dialysate pump and the dialyzer and a second valve located between the second dialysate pump and the dialyzer. The dialysis system is configured to alternate pumping of dialysate from the first and second dialysate pumps to the dialyzer using the first and second valves.

The invention relates to a cassette module for processing blood and therapeutic fluids in an extracorporeal blood treatment, dialysis or infusion technology, comprising a base body (302), with a first side and a second side, fluid channels integrated into the base body, a receiving unit (304) to receive a centrifugal pump means for delivering fluids, characterized in that at least some of the fluid channels are arranged on a first side of the base body, and the receiving unit for the centrifugal pump means is arranged on the second side, and the receiving unit for the centrifugal pump means is in fluid connection with the fluid channels on the first side during operation.

A cassette integrated system. The cassette integrated system includes a mixing cassette, a balancing cassette, a middle cassette fluidly connected to the mixing cassette and the balancing cassette and at least one pod. The mixing cassette is fluidly connected to the middle cassette by at least one fluid line and the middle cassette is fluidly connected to the balancing cassette by at least one fluid line. The at least one pod is connected to at least two of the cassettes wherein the pod is located in an area between the cassettes.