A blood circuit assembly for a dialysis unit may include an organizing tray, a pair of pneumatic pumps mounted to the organizing tray for circulating blood received from a patient through a circuit including a dialyzer unit and returned to the patient, an air trap mounted to the organizing tray arranged to remove air from blood circulating in the circuit, a pair of dialyzer connections arranged to connect to the inlet and outlet of a dialyzer unit, and a pair of blood line connectors, one inlet blood line connector for receiving blood from the patient and providing blood to the pneumatic pumps and the other outlet blood line connector for returning blood to the patient.

A blood component sampling cassette which can be more efficiently manufactured at lower cost as compared to a typical cassette, a blood sampling circuit set, and a blood component sampling system. A blood component sampling cassette (22) includes a cassette main body (23) made of a soft material to which heat sterilization is applicable. The cassette main body (23) is provided with a retransfusion line (44). The retransfusion line (44) is provided with a reservoir (47) configured to temporarily store a blood component to be returned to a blood donor. The reservoir (47) is pressed by a retransfusion pump (49) to discharge the blood component from the reservoir (47).

Described is a method for controlling fluid volume balance. A controller is configured with a first set of inputs comprising a hematocrit, a total blood volume, and an ACD ratio. A maximum extracorporeal RBC amount during the procedure is estimated based on the first set of inputs. A fluid circuit is primed with a priming fluid. Whole blood is drawn from a blood source and separated into a RBC component, a target cell component, and a plasma component. The target cell component is directed to a product container. The product container comprising the target cell component is treated. A treated target cell component, a portion of the RBC component remaining in the fluid circuit, and/or a portion of the plasma component remaining in the fluid circuit are returned to the blood source. A first response action is provided if the maximum extracorporeal RBC amount estimated is above a programmed limit.

A dialysis system may include a blood circuit, a cassette, a subsystem having a processor, a sensor, and a blood pumping mechanism, a housing in which the subsystem is arranged, a movable support arranged in the housing and configured to hold the sensor and/or the blood pumping mechanism of the subsystem, a cassette holder configured to removably receive the cassette, and a loading system. The loading system may be configured to move the movable support, e.g. by an axial movement, to a first position and to a second position relatively to the housing while the cassette holder is fixedly arranged in the housing. The loading system may have an electric motor controlled by the processor, a drive assembly coupled to the electric motor, and a guiding assembly configured to cooperate with the drive assembly.

A prismatic reflector is provided for incorporation into a centrifugal separation chamber. The prismatic reflector is formed of a light-transmissive material and includes inner and outer walls and first and second end walls. The inner wall is configured to receive light traveling along an initial path and transmit the light to the first end wall, with the first end wall receiving the light transmitted through the inner wall and directing the light toward the second end wall in a direction that is angled with respect to the initial path. The second end wall receives the light from the first end wall and transmits the light out of the prismatic reflector. The initial path of the light may be in a direction toward a rotational axis of the centrifugal separation chamber, with the prismatic reflector redirecting the light into a direction substantially parallel to the rotational axis.

A modular cassette is provided for separating a composite fluid into at least two component parts thereof during centrifugation. The modular cassette includes: a housing defining a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a chamber for fluid separation; a fluidic channel configured to provide fluid communication between at least two components of the modular cassette; a heat expanding valve including: a flow pathway including undulations configured to facilitate closing of the fluidic channel, wherein the heat expanding valve occludes one or more of the undulations of the flow pathway to close the fluidic channel; and a heating element configured to actuate the heat expanding valve.

The present invention generally relates to hemodialysis and similar dialysis systems, including a variety of systems and methods that would make hemodialysis more efficient, easier, and/or more affordable. One aspect of the invention is generally directed to new fluid circuits for fluid flow. In one set of embodiments, a hemodialysis system may include a blood flow path and a dialysate flow path, where the dialysate flow path includes one or more of a balancing circuit, a mixing circuit, and/or a directing circuit. Preparation of dialysate by the preparation circuit, in some instances, may be decoupled from patient dialysis. In some cases, the circuits are defined, at least partially, within one or more cassettes, optionally interconnected with conduits, pumps, or the like. In one embodiment, the fluid circuit and/or the various fluid flow paths may be at least partially isolated, spatially and/or thermally, from electrical components of the hemodialysis system. In some cases, a gas supply may be provided in fluid communication with the dialysate flow path and/or the dialyzer that, when activated, is able to urge dialysate to pass through the dialyzer and urge blood in the blood flow path back to the patient. Such a system may be useful, for example, in certain emergency situations (e.g., a power failure) where it is desirable to return as much blood to the patient as possible. The hemodialysis system may also include, in another aspect of the invention, one or more fluid handling devices, such as pumps, valves, mixers, or the like, which can be actuated using a control fluid, such as air. In some cases, the control fluid may be delivered to the fluid handling devices using an external pump or other device, which may be detachable in certain instances. In one embodiment, one or more of the fluid handling devices may be generally rigid (e.g., having a spheroid shape), optionally with a diaphragm contained within the device, dividing it into first and second compartments.

A blood circuit assembly for a dialysis unit may include an organizing tray, a pair of pneumatic pumps mounted to the organizing tray for circulating blood received from a patient through a circuit including a dialyzer unit and returned to the patient, an air trap mounted to the organizing tray arranged to remove air from blood circulating in the circuit, a pair of dialyzer connections arranged to connect to the inlet and outlet of a dialyzer unit, and a pair of blood line connectors, one inlet blood line connector for receiving blood from the patient and providing blood to the pneumatic pumps and the other outlet blood line connector for returning blood to the patient.

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.

Blood in a separation chamber is separated into a red blood cell layer, a plasma constituent, and a mononuclear cell-containing layer. A portion of the plasma constituent exits the chamber via a plasma outlet, while a first portion of the red blood cell layer exits via a red blood cell outlet. A second portion of the red blood cell layer exits the chamber via the red blood cell outlet and is collected. At least a portion of the collected red blood cell layer may then be conveyed to the chamber via the red blood cell outlet to convey at least a portion of the mononuclear cell-containing layer out of the chamber via the plasma outlet for collection. A second portion of the plasma constituent may be conveyed out of the chamber via the plasma outlet to more fully collect the mononuclear cell-containing layer without the use of collected plasma.