Hemofilters for in vivo filtration of blood are disclosed. The hemofilters disclosed herein provide an optimal flow of blood through the filtration channels while maintaining a pressure gradient across the filtration channel walls to enhance filtration and minimize turbulence and stagnation of blood in the hemofilter.

A microfluidic device for increasing convective clearance of particles from a fluid is provided. In some implementations, described herein the microfluidic device includes multiple layers that each define infusate, blood, and filtrate channels. Each of the channels have a pressure profile. The device can also include one or more pressure control features. The pressure control feature controls a difference between the pressure profiles along a length of the device. For example, the pressure control feature can control the difference between the pressure profile of the filtrate channel and the pressure profile of the blood channel. In some implementations, the pressure control feature controls the pressure difference between two channels such that the difference varies along the length of the channels by less than 50% of the pressure difference between the channels at the channels' inlets.

A medical infusion fluid handling system, such as an automated peritoneal dialysis system, may be arranged to de-cap and connect one or more lines (such as solution lines) with one or more spikes or other connection ports on a fluid handling cassette. This feature may reduce a likelihood of contamination since no human interaction is required to de-cap and connect the one or more lines and the one or more spikes. For example, the automated peritoneal dialysis system may include a carriage arranged to receive the one or more lines each having a connector end and a cap. The carriage may move along a first direction so as to move the connector ends of the one or more lines along the first direction, and a cap stripper may be arranged to engage with the caps on the solution lines on the carriage. The cap stripper may move in a second direction transverse to the first direction, as well as to move with the carriage along the first direction.

A system includes a device having a blood side, a solution side, and a semipermeable membrane structurally configured for diffusion of one or more solutes therethrough. The system also includes a first extracorporeal circuit having one or more first fluid connectors for connecting the blood side of the device to the vascular system of a first animal, a second extracorporeal circuit including one or more second fluid connectors for connecting the solution side of the device to the vascular system of a second animal, a first pump in fluid communication with at least one of the first and second extracorporeal circuits, and a driver mechanically coupled to the first pump, the driver configured to drive the first pump using energy from an energy source.

An implantable or wearable kidney enclosure that is cylindrical, ovoid, or otherwise non-angular e.g., not rectangular or cuboid), having a circular or oval hemofilter that provides a blood flow pattern from an internal, central artery source radially outwards. Due to the efficient flow of the circular filter design, the enclosure can be made in a cylindrical low profile shape, resulting in a compact enclosure highly suitable for implantable and wearable dialysis applications.

Parallel plate devices for hemofiltration or hemodialysis are provided. A parallel plate device includes a parallel plate assembly having an aligned stack of stackable plate subunits, each stackable plate subunit having a through channel for blood, where the blood channels are opened up at opposite ends of the parallel plate assembly. The parallel plate assembly is configured to form filtrate/dialysate channels interleaved with the blood channels, adjacent channels being separated by a silicon nanoporous filtration membrane. A blood conduit adaptor is attached to the parallel plate assembly at each of the ends, and is configured to distribute blood to or collect blood from the blood channels. Also provided are systems and methods for using the parallel plate devices.

A fluid handling cassette, such as that useable with an automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) cycler device or other infusion apparatus, may include a generally planar body having at least one pump chamber formed as a depression in a first side of the body and a plurality of flowpaths for a fluid that includes a channel. A patient line port may be arranged for connection to a patient line and be in fluid communication with the at least one pump chamber via at least a first one of said flowpaths, and an optional membrane may be attached to the first side of the body over the at least one pump chamber. In one embodiment, the membrane may have a pump chamber portion with an unstressed shape that generally conforms to the depression of the at least one pump chamber in the body and is arranged to be movable for movement of the fluid in a useable space of the at least one pump chamber. One or more spacers may be provided in the at least one pump chamber to prevent the membrane from contacting an inner wall of the at least one pump chamber. The patient line, a drain line, and/or a heater bag line may be positioned to be separately occludable in relation to one or more solution lines that are connectable to the cassette.

A device isolates a substance from blood. The substance includes particles with an effective diameter that is within a range defined by effective diameters of constituents of blood. The device comprises a first sheet of graphene including a first plurality of apertures. The first plurality of apertures are configured to pass objects with an effective diameter less than or equal to the effective diameter of the particles of the substance. The device comprises a second sheet of graphene including a second plurality of apertures. The second plurality of apertures are configured to pass objects with an effective diameter less than the effective diameter of the particles of the substance. The device may be configured to include a conduit system. The device may be configured to operate according to a reversible cycle.

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.

Hemofilters for in vivo filtration of blood are disclosed. The hemofilters disclosed herein provide an optimal flow of blood through the filtration channels while maintaining a pressure gradient across the filtration channel walls to enhance filtration and minimize turbulence and stagnation of blood in the hemofilter.