A pumping cassette including a housing having at least two inlet fluid lines and at least two outlet fluid lines. At least one balancing pod within the housing and in fluid connection with the fluid paths. The balancing pod balances the flow of a first fluid and the flow of a second fluid such that the volume of the first fluid equals the volume of the second fluid. The balancing pod also includes a membrane that forms two balancing chambers. Also included in the cassette is at least two reciprocating pressure displacement membrane pumps. The pumps are within the housing and they pump the fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet line and pump the second fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet.

The invention relates to a method of monitoring an impeller pump used in a medical application, wherein the structure-borne noise arising in the impeller pump is measured and this measured structure-borne noise is compared with a reference curve and/or with a limit value, wherein a signal is output as a sign for a disturbance of the operation of the impeller pump. The invention further relates to a blood treatment apparatus in which the aforesaid method is carried out.

A blood pump comprising a cartridge, the cartridge comprising a first recess therein, said first recess having a surface, and a flexible diaphragm closing said first recess, the first recess and the flexible diaphragm defining a first pump chamber, said first pump chamber having an inlet and an outlet wherein the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber is movable between a first position, separated in use from the surface of the first recess, in which said first pump chamber has a maximum volume, and a second position, substantially adjacent to the surface of the first recess, in which said first pump chamber has a minimum volume a pump driver arranged to interface with the cartridge, said pump driver operable to move the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber in a first direction into said first recess to, in use, pump blood from the chamber and to move the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber in a second direction away from the first recess to, in use, draw blood into said first pump chamber, wherein the pump driver controls the movement of the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber such that the flexible diaphragm of the first pump chamber moves toward said first position at a first speed and moves toward said second position at a second speed, said second speed being greater than said first speed.

A pumping cassette including a housing having at least two inlet fluid lines and at least two outlet fluid lines. At least one balancing pod within the housing and in fluid connection with the fluid paths. The balancing pod balances the flow of a first fluid and the flow of a second fluid such that the volume of the first fluid equals the volume of the second fluid. The balancing pod also includes a membrane that forms two balancing chambers. Also included in the cassette is at least two reciprocating pressure displacement membrane pumps. The pumps are within the housing and they pump the fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet line and pump the second fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet.

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.

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).

A balancing unit for medical fluids includes at least one balancing chamber and at least one conveying unit for filling the balancing chamber, in which the conveying unit is a pressure controlled conveying unit and/or is designed and provided for being operated in at least one operating state as a constant-pressure source. An external medical functional unit, a treatment apparatus and methods are also described.

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.

A pumping cassette including a housing having at least two inlet fluid lines and at least two outlet fluid lines. At least one balancing pod within the housing and in fluid connection with the fluid paths. The balancing pod balances the flow of a first fluid and the flow of a second fluid such that the volume of the first fluid equals the volume of the second fluid. The balancing pod also includes a membrane that forms two balancing chambers. Also included in the cassette is at least two reciprocating pressure displacement membrane pumps. The pumps are within the housing and they pump the fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet line and pump the second fluid from a fluid inlet to a fluid outlet.

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.