A blood purification apparatus that includes a blood circuit including an arterial blood circuit and a venous blood circuit and having a flow route that allows a patient's blood to extracorporeally circulate from a distal end of the arterial blood circuit to a distal end of the venous blood circuit; a blood purifier connected to a proximal end of the arterial blood circuit and to a proximal end of the venous blood circuit and that purifies the blood flowing through the blood circuit; an air-trap chamber connected to the blood circuit and that traps bubbles contained in liquid flowing in the flow route of the blood circuit; and a blood pump provided to the arterial blood circuit and being capable of delivering the liquid within the blood circuit. An upstream bubble-detecting unit attached to a position of the blood circuit on an upstream side with respect to the air-trap chamber and that detects bubbles contained in the liquid flowing in the blood circuit; and a control unit that reduces, at the detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit, a flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber.

A portable hemodialysis system is provided including a dialyzer, a closed loop blood flow path, a closed loop dialysate flow path, a blood pump, and a pair of dialysate pumps. A processor controls the flow of blood through the blood flow path, and the processor controls the flow of dialysate through the dialysate flow path. In addition, the processor stores a preprogrammed patient treatment plan wherein the flow rate of the dialysate through the dialysate flow path reduces throughout the patient's treatment to maximize the amount of urea removed by the sorbent filter. In alternative embodiments, the processor stores a patient treatment plan wherein the dialysate flow rate increases throughout the patient's treatment. In still alternative embodiments, the processor stores a patient treatment plan wherein the flow rate of the dialysate through the dialysate flow path both increases and decreases throughout the patient's treatment.

The disclosed subject matter relates to extracorporeal blood processing or other processing of fluids. Volumetric fluid balance, a required element of many such processes, may be achieved with multiple pumps or other proportioning or balancing devices which are to some extent independent of each other. This need may arise in treatments that involve multiple fluids. Safe and secure mechanisms to ensure fluid balance in such systems are described.

The disclosed subject matter relates to extracorporeal blood processing or other processing of fluids. Volumetric fluid balance, a required element of many such processes, may be achieved with multiple pumps or other proportioning or balancing devices which are to some extent independent of each other. This need may arise in treatments that involve multiple fluids. Safe and secure mechanisms to ensure fluid balance in such systems are described.

The disclosed subject matter relates to extracorporeal blood processing or other processing of fluids. Volumetric fluid balance, a required element of many such processes, may be achieved with multiple pumps or other proportioning or balancing devices which are to some extent independent of each other. This need may arise in treatments that involve multiple fluids. Safe and secure mechanisms to ensure fluid balance in such systems are described.

The disclosed subject matter relates to extracorporeal blood processing or other processing of fluids. Volumetric fluid balance, a required element of many such processes, may be achieved with multiple pumps or other proportioning or balancing devices which are to some extent independent of each other. This need may arise in treatments that involve multiple fluids. Safe and secure mechanisms to ensure fluid balance in such systems are described.

A device and method are used for monitoring an extracorporeal blood treatment device, such as a dialysis machine, which includes an extracorporeal blood circuit having an arterial blood line with an arterial patient port and/or at least one venous blood line with a venous patient port, and a dialysis fluid system which has a dialysis fluid supply line and a dialysis fluid drain line. The monitoring device selects and senses a measured value during operation of the extracorporeal blood treatment device which is suitable for monitoring the blood treatment device to compare a time-related actual course of the measured value with a target course of the measured value stored in a memory, and to determine that there is a defect if, at least in sections, the actual course of the measured value deviates from the target course by more than a defined tolerance.

A cassette module for a differential flowmeter has a first channel and a second channel which carry fluid during operation of the differential flowmeter and are permeated by a magnetic field during operation of the differential flowmeter, each having an electrode pair arranged on the first channel and on the second channel. A flow difference between the first fluid-carrying channel and the second fluid-carrying channel can be determined by comparing the signals on the first electrode pair and on the second electrode pair. The first channel has an additional section that is permeated by the magnetic field during operation. Another electrode pair is arranged in the additional section, so that a change in the measurement conditions can be detected by comparing the signal on the first electrode pair and on the additional electrode pair.

An apparatus for extracorporeal treatment of blood (1) comprising a filtration unit (2), a blood withdrawal line (6), a blood return line (7), an effluent fluid line (13), a pre and/or post-dilution fluid line (15, 25) connected to the blood withdrawal line, and a dialysis fluid line. Pumps (17, 18, 21, 22, 27) act on the fluid lines for regulating the flow of fluid. A control unit (10) is configured to periodically calculate a new value for the patient fluid removal rate to be imposed on an ultrafiltration actuator in order to keep a predefined patient fluid removal rate across a reference time interval irrespective of machine down times.

A control unit (30) is arranged to control a dialysis fluid distribution system (12) comprising two volumetric pumps (P1, P2) and a dialyzer (13). The control unit (30) is operable in a calibration mode, to establish a bypass flow path that bypasses the dialyzer (13) and extends between the pumps (P1, P2) and to operate the pumps (P1, P2) at first and second calibration speeds so as to balance the flow rates generated by the pumps (P1, P2), e.g. based on a measured pressure or fluid level in dialysis fluid distribution system (12). The control unit (30) determines, based on the first and second calibration speeds, a relation between the stroke volumes of the pumps (P1, P2). The control unit (30) is further operable in a treatment mode, to establish a main flow path that extends between the first and second pumps (P1, P2) via the dialyzer (13) and to control the first and second pumps (P1, P2), based on the relation between their stroke volumes, to operate at a respective treatment frequency so as to generate a selected ultrafiltration rate in the dialyzer (13).