An external functional means comprises at least one housing body, at least one chamber integrated into the housing body for receiving medical fluids, at least one passage integrated into the housing body for receiving and/or conducting a medical fluid, and at least one valve means completely or partly integrated into the housing body for controlling or regulating a fluid flowing through the external functional means. The invention further specifies a blood treatment apparatus and methods which may be carried out by means of the external functional means of the invention and by means of the blood treatment apparatus, respectively.

A device and a method are provided for blood treatment in a single-needle operating mode. The blood treatment device has an extracorporeal blood circuit comprising a blood supply line leading to the inlet of a blood treatment unit and a blood return line leading away from the outlet of the blood treatment unit. A blood collecting container is provided in the blood return line, and is connected to an air reservoir by a flow line. The flow connection comprises two line branches, one branch being used to transfer gas from the air reservoir into the blood collecting container and the other branch being used to transfer gas from the blood collecting container into the air reservoir. The connection branch for transferring gas from the air store into the blood collecting container can contain a compressor.

Described are embodiments that include methods and devices for separating composite liquids into components. Embodiments involve the use of a flexible membrane for separating a composite liquid into components. The composite liquid may include, in embodiments, a cellular containing liquid, such as whole blood or components of whole blood. In one specific embodiment, the composite liquid is a buffy coat.

An extracorporeal blood treatment device for operation with a single patient connection, connected by an arterial and a venous blood line to an extracorporeal blood circuit, and a method for operating a blood treatment device with a single patient connection. The blood treatment device has two apparatuses for conveying blood in the arterial and venous blood lines. The second apparatus for conveying blood comprises means for collecting blood and means for establishing a pressure in the means for collecting blood, so that blood collected in the means for collecting blood flows to the patient connection. Furthermore, the blood treatment device has arterial and venous closure elements for interrupting the flow of liquid in the arterial and venous blood lines, as well as a control unit for actuating the two apparatuses for conveying blood and the arterial and venous closure elements. The blood treatment device and the method for operating are characterized in that the first apparatus for conveying blood is operated both during the arterial and venous phases, so that blood flows continuously through the blood treatment unit.

An ambulatory ultrafiltration device includes a blood filter that has a blood side or fluid communication with the vascular system of the subject, an ultrafiltrate side, and a semipermeable membrane disposed between the blood side and the ultrafiltrate side. The ambulatory ultrafiltration also includes a buffer vessel in fluid communication with the blood side of the blood filter, and a blood pump. The blood pump is controlled to alternate between a withdrawal phase and a return phase. In the withdrawal phase, blood is withdrawn on a blood path from the subject via the blood filter to the buffer vessel. In the return phase, blood is returned from the buffer vessel to the subject on the blood path. The blood filter is arranged to remove ultrafiltrate from the blood during at least one of the withdrawal and return phases.

An apparatus is described for extracorporeal blood treatment comprising an extracorporeal circuit (2), a first pump (13) operating at the removal line (3) of the blood, a second pump (14) operating at the return line (7) of the blood to the patient, a first blood reservoir (21) operating on the blood return line (7) upstream of the second blood pump (14) and a sensor (22) predisposed to detect at least a parameter, for example the pressure in the first reservoir; a control unit (100) connected to the first pump (13), to the second pump (14) and to the sensor (22) is configured such as to control the first pump (13) to promote removal of the blood along the removal line and the movement of the second pump (14) to promote the return of the blood to the patient along the return line, the control of the second pump being carried out on the basis of the signal emitted by the sensor acting on the first reservoir.

A device and a method are provided for blood treatment in a single-needle operating mode. The blood treatment device has an extracorporeal blood circuit comprising a blood supply line leading to the inlet of a blood treatment unit and a blood return line leading away from the outlet of the blood treatment unit. A blood collecting container is provided in the blood return line, and is connected to an air reservoir by a flow line. The flow connection comprises two line branches, one branch being used to transfer gas from the air reservoir into the blood collecting container and the other branch being used to transfer gas from the blood collecting container into the air reservoir. The connection branch for transferring gas from the air store into the blood collecting container can contain a compressor.

A disposable for use in blood treatment including a blood treatment unit and two membrane pumps connected in parallel on one side of the blood treatment unit. The disposable is operable in a single-needle mode, in which the pumps generate a pulsatile flow of blood through the blood treatment unit, and in a double-needle mode, in which the pumps generate an essentially continuous flow of blood through the blood treatment unit. The pumps connect to a supply of treatment fluid such that alternating flows of treatment fluid causes the pumps to generate the desired flows of blood in the single-needle and double-needle modes. The treatment fluid may be used as motive fluid for displacing the blood in the membrane pumps and/or as control fluid for controlling opening and/or closing of upstream and downstream commutation valves in the membrane pumps.

An irradiation device includes a processing container including a first chamber, a second chamber and at least one narrow passage in fluid communication at a first end with the first chamber and at a second end with the second chamber, and a rotatable table on which the processing container is mounted, the table having a first state wherein the first chamber is disposed at a higher elevation than the second chamber, and a second state wherein the second chamber is disposed at a higher elevation than the first chamber. The irradiation device also includes ultraviolet (UV) light source disposed proximate to the narrow passage and configured to irradiate fluid passing through the narrow passage.

The disclosure provides a manual blood or body fluid treatment system comprising first and second reservoirs for holding a batch of blood from a patient and a filter for performing an extracorporeal treatment on blood passing therethrough by removing waste molecules and/or fluid. The first reservoir is constructed to be displaced vertically relative to the second reservoir and vice versa, such that a height difference between the first and second reservoirs causes blood or body fluid to flow between the reservoirs due to gravity.