MEMBRANE GAS EXCHANGER

Abstract

The present invention relates to a membrane gas exchanger having a housing in which a first chamber and a second chamber as well as a membrane are arranged, wherein the membrane is gas permeable and liquid impermeable and separates the first chamber and the second chamber from one another, wherein the first chamber forms the blood side and the second chamber forms the gas side of the membrane gas exchanger, and wherein the first chamber has a blood inlet and a blood outlet, and wherein the second chamber has a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and wherein the blood inlet, the blood outlet, the gas inlet, and the gas outlet are arranged at the housing, wherein the housing is the housing of a dialyzer, and wherein a first adapter is provided that has an inlet and at least two outlets, with the inlet being connected to the gas outlet of the housing.

Claims

1. A membrane gas exchanger having a housing in which a first chamber and a second chamber as well as a membrane are arranged, wherein the membrane is gas permeable and liquid impermeable and separates the first chamber and the second chamber from one another, wherein the first chamber forms the blood side and the second chamber forms the gas side of the membrane gas exchanger, and wherein the first chamber has a blood inlet and a blood outlet, and wherein the second chamber has a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and wherein the blood inlet, the blood outlet, the gas inlet, and the gas outlet are arranged at the housing, characterized in that the housing is the housing of a dialyzer; and in that a first adapter is provided that has an inlet and at least two outlets, with the inlet being connected to the gas outlet of the housing.

2. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the first adapter is releasably connected to the gas outlet.

3. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the first adapter is plugged onto the gas outlet.

4. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the membrane is present as a hollow fiber bundle.

5. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the membrane has a base body and a liquid impermeable coating located thereon.

6. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the membrane gas exchanger has a gas inlet that is connected to a second adapter.

7. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that the second adapter is releasably connected to the gas inlet and is preferably plugged onto the gas inlet.

8. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that the second adapter is differently designed than the first adapter; and/or in that the second adapter has an inlet and an outlet, with the outlet being connected to the gas inlet, and with provision preferably being made that a retaining section is present in the region of the inlet by means of which retaining section a hose can be fixed to the inlet.

9. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the first adapter and/or the second adapter has/have a quick-closure connection for coupling to the gas outlet or to the gas inlet.

10. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the first adapter has a gas sample outlet.

11. A membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the first adapter has an outflow for condensed water.

12. A device for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or for extracorporeal decarboxylation or for another gassing or degassing of blood using an extracorporeal blood circuit that is connected to the blood inlet and blood outlet of a membrane gas exchanger in accordance with claim 1.

13. A device in accordance with claim 12, characterized in that the second adapter of the membrane gas exchanger is connected to an oxygen source or to a flushing gas source.

14. A device in accordance with claim 12, characterized in that the first adapter of the membrane gas exchanger is connected to a CO.sub.2 discharge.

15. A use of a dialyzer housing for a membrane gas exchanger in a device for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and/or for extracorporeal decarboxylation or for another gassing or degassing of blood.

Description

[0030] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. There are shown:

[0031] FIG. 1: a schematic view of the first adapter;

[0032] FIG. 2: a schematic view of the second adapter; and

[0033] FIG. 3: a schematic view of a housing of a known dialyzer.

[0034] In the embodiment, the housing G of a conventional dialyzer is used such as is shown by way of example in FIG. 3. It has an inlet Eb and an outlet Ab for blood and an inlet Ed and an outlet Ad for dialyzate, A hollow fiber bundle, not shown, whose inner spaces are in fluid communication with the blood side and thus also with Eb and Ab and that is surrounded by a space that is in turn in fluid communication with Ed and Ad, extends between the molding compounds V.

[0035] The outlet Ad or the inlet Ed for dialyzate is used in accordance with the invention as the gas outlet of a membrane gas exchanger that in turn serves the gassing and/or degassing of blood in an extracorporeal circuit of an ECMO or ECCO2R device. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the outlet Ad and the inlet Ed are each formed as stubs projecting from the housing G.

[0036] The housing G is preferably cylindrical and has the blood inlet Eb and the blood outlet Ab at its front faces and the inlet Ed and outlet Ad for dialyzate or (in the case of a use as a membrane gas exchanger) the inlet and outlet for gas at its jacket surface. All the inlets and outlets are preferably designed as stubs that project from the housing G, as can be seen from FIG. 3.

[0037] The first adapter 10 is plugged in accordance with FIG. 1 onto the gas outlet tub Ad and is secured there by means of a snap-on closure connection.

[0038] The first adapter 10 has an inlet 11 for the gas flowing out of the housing (not shown) and a plurality of gas outlets 12 through which the gas exits the first adapter 10. As can further be seen from FIG. 1, the first adapter 10 has a gas sample outlet 13 and furthermore an outlet 14 for discharging condensed water in the second chamber. The likelihood of a closure of the membrane gas exchanger on the gas outlet side and thus the risk for the patient is reduced by the plurality of gas outlets 12.

[0039] It can furthermore be seen from FIG. 1 that the gas outlet 12 shown on the right is not formed as a planar, e.g. circular surface, but rather has cutouts extending to the planar front face in the jacket surface, whereby the closing of this outlet by a planar surface can be prevented.

[0040] The second adapter 20 in accordance with FIG. 2 is connected to the gas inlet stub Ed of the housing G, with the former preferably likewise being secured at the gas inlet stub Ed by a snap-on closure. The second adapter 20 has an inlet 21 for e.g. a flushing gas or for oxygen and an outlet 22 that is plugged onto the gas inlet stub Ed of the membrane gas exchanger. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the inlet 21 of the second adapter 20 is surrounded by a pine section 23 so that a hose or the like can be fixed to the second adapter 20 in a comparatively simple manner.