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 hemodialysis system is disclosed. The hemodialysis system includes a disposable set including a blood pumping tube, a fresh dialysate pumping tube, and a spent dialysate pumping tube. The hemodialysis system also includes a dialysis instrument including a blood pump head, a fresh dialysate pump head, a spent dialysate pump head, a first motor positioned and arranged to operate the blood pump head, a second motor positioned and arranged to operate the fresh dialysate pump head, and a third motor positioned and arranged to operate the spent dialysate pump head. When the disposable set is loaded into the dialysis instrument, the blood pumping tube comes into registry with the blood pump head, the fresh dialysate pumping tube comes into registry with the fresh dialysate pump head, and spent dialysate pumping tube comes into registry with the spent dialysate pump head.

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.

A hemodialysis machine comprising a fluid pathway for delivering a dialysate solution, wherein the fluid pathway comprises a pre-dialysis pathway and a post-dialysis pathway, a dialyser for dialysing patient's blood using the dialysate solution, the dialyser connected between the pre-dialysis pathway and the post-dialysis pathway, a first sensor system configured to sense a characteristic of the dialysate solution at a first location on the pre-dialysis pathway, a second sensor system configured to sense a characteristic of the dialysate solution at a second location on the post-dialysis pathway, and a control system configured to make a comparative analysis of the measurements taken by the first sensor and the second sensor for monitoring the composition of the dialysate solution.

A processor of a medical device configured to communicate with a remote server can be programmed to protect the medical device from exposure to unauthorized or malicious software. A system or method to implement this form of protection can include, for example, at least one processor on the medical device, a control software module that controls the operation of the medical device and is executable on the processor, a data management module that manages data flow to and from the control software module from sources external to the medical device, and an agent module that has access to a limited number of designated memory locations in the medical device. In addition, a hemodialysis apparatus can be configured to operate in conjunction with an apparatus for providing purified water from a source such as a municipal water supply or a well. A system for controlling delivery of purified water to the hemodialysis apparatus can comprise a therapy controller of the hemodialysis apparatus configured to communicate with a controller of a water purification device, and a user interface controller of the hemodialysis apparatus configured to communicate with the therapy controller, and to send data to and receive data from a user interface.

A method for priming a renal therapy machine is disclosed. The method includes communicating a source of a physiologically compatible solution with a blood circuit and moving the physiologically compatible solution from the source to the blood circuit. The method also includes moving the physiologically compatible solution through the blood circuit to prime the blood circuit. The method further includes moving the physiologically compatible solution from the blood circuit though porous fibers of a blood filter, causing air to be purged from the blood circuit and into a dialysis fluid circuit portion of the blood filter.

A pump cassette is disclosed. The pump cassette includes a housing having at least one fluid inlet line and at least one fluid outlet line. The cassette also includes at least one reciprocating pressure displacement membrane pump within the housing. The pressure pump pumps a fluid from the fluid inlet line to the fluid outlet line. A hollow spike is also included on the housing as well as at least one metering pump. The metering pump is fluidly connected to the hollow spike on the housing and to a metering pump fluid line. The metering pump fluid line is fluidly connected to the fluid outlet line.

Dialysis systems comprising actuators that cooperate to perform dialysis functions and sensors that cooperate to monitor dialysis functions are disclosed. According to one aspect, such a hemodialysis system comprises a user interface model layer, a therapy layer, below the user interface model layer, and a machine layer below the therapy layer. The user interface model layer is configured to manage the state of a graphical user interface and receive inputs from a graphical user interface. The therapy layer is configured to run state machines that generate therapy commands based at least in part on the inputs from the graphical user interface. The machine layer is configured to provide commands for the actuators based on the therapy commands.

Automated control mechanisms and methods for controlling fluid flow in a hemodialysis apparatus are described. The methods can involve a controller receiving information from a pressure sensor in a control chamber of a reciprocating diaphragm-based blood pump and causing the application of a time-varying pressure waveform on a diaphragm of the blood pump during a fill-stroke of the blood pump. The controller can be configured and programmed to monitor a pressure variation in the control chamber measured by the pressure sensor and to compare the measured pressure variation to a pre-determined value. Based on such comparison, the controller can initiate a procedure to pause or stop a dialysate pump of the hemodialysis apparatus if the magnitude of the measured pressure variation deviates from the pre-determined value.

Systems for monitoring fluid flow in an extracorporeal blood circuit are described. The blood circuit of such systems can include plod pump having a pumping chamber of the blood pump separated from a control chamber of the blood pump by a flexible diaphragm. The control chamber can be configured to transmit positive or negative pressure to operate the diaphragm. The system can include a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure in the control chamber of the blood pump, and a controller configured to receive information from the pressure sensor and to control the delivery of pressure to the control chamber of the blood pump. The controller can also be configured to cause the application of a time-varying pressure waveform on the blood pump diaphragm during a fill-stroke of the blood pump, and to monitor a pressure variation in the control chamber measured by the pressure sensor. When so configured, such controller can transmit a value representing a magnitude of the measured pressure variation to a display associated with the extracorporeal blood circuit.