Displacement Pump For Medical Liquids, Blood Treatment Device, And Method For Controlling Same

Abstract

The invention relates to a positive displacement pump 1 for conveying medical fluids, which pump has a pumping chamber 5 and a positive displacement element 15, and to a blood treatment apparatus comprising a positive displacement pump 1. In addition, the invention relates to a method for controlling a positive displacement pump 1 for conveying medical fluids. The positive displacement pump 1 according to the invention has an actuation member 20 in operative connection with the positive displacement element 20 for displacing or deforming the positive displacement element in order to convey the fluid into the pumping chamber or out of the pumping chamber, and a drive device 21 for displacing the actuation member 20. A control unit 14 is provided for to controlling the drive device 21 and an inlet valve 12 and outlet valve 13. The actuation member 20 is in operative connection with the positive displacement element 15 via a working chamber 19 that is filled with gas and has a sealed volume. In order to achieve a high conveying precision, the pressure in the working chamber 5 is kept constant when the positive displacement element 15 is moved.

Claims

1. Positive displacement pump for medical fluids, comprising a pumping chamber, a positive displacement element, an actuation member in operative connection with the positive displacement element for displacing or deforming the positive displacement element in order to convey the fluid into pumping chamber or out of the pumping chamber, and a drive device for displacing the actuation member, an inlet valve and an outlet valve and a control unit for controlling the drive device and the inlet valve and outlet valve being provided, wherein the actuation member is in operative connection with the positive displacement element via a working chamber that is filled with gas and has a sealed volume.

2. Positive displacement pump according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the working chamber, the control unit being designed such that, in the pressure phase, the outlet valve is controlled depending on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor such that the pressure in the working chamber remains constant when the actuation member is displaced.

3. Positive displacement pump according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is designed such that the drive device is controlled such that the pump output corresponds to a preset target pump output or the conveyance rate corresponds to a preset target conveyance rate.

4. Positive displacement pump according to claim 3, wherein the control unit comprises a path sensor for measuring the displacement path of the actuation member, the control unit being designed such that, on the basis of the measured displacement path of the actuation member, the actual pump output or the actual conveyance rate is calculated and the drive device is controlled such that the actual pump output corresponds to the target pump output or the actual conveyance rate corresponds to the target conveyance rate.

5. Positive displacement pump according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a pressure measuring device for measuring the pressure in the working chamber, the control unit being designed such that, in the pressure phase, the drive device is controlled depending on the pressure measured by the pressure measuring device such that the pressure in the working chamber remains constant when the actuation member is displaced.

6. Positive displacement pump according to claim 5, wherein the control unit is designed such that the outlet valve is controlled such that the actual pump output corresponds to the target pump output or the actual conveyance rate corresponds to the target conveyance rate.

7. Positive displacement pump according to claim 6, wherein the actuation device on the unit and the pumping device on the disposable are designed such that the pumping device on the disposable can be coupled to the actuation device on the unit such that an operative connection can be produced between the actuation member and the positive displacement element via the volume of gas enclosed in the working chamber.

8. Positive displacement pump according to claim 1, wherein the positive displacement element is a membrane that seals the pumping chamber.

9. Positive displacement pump according to claim 1, wherein the working chamber is a cylindrical body and the positive displacement element is a piston which is guided in the cylindrical body.

10. Positive displacement pump according to claim 1, wherein the drive device comprises an electric motor.

11. Medico-technical device comprising at least one positive displacement pump according to claim 1 for conveying a medical treatment fluid.

12. Method for controlling a positive displacement pump for medical fluids, which pump comprises a pumping chamber, a positive displacement element, an actuation member in operative connection with the positive displacement element for displacing or deforming the positive displacement element, a drive device for displacing the actuation member and an inlet valve and an outlet valve, characterised in that the positive displacement element is actuated by the actuation member via a sealed volume of gas which is enclosed in a working space.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the outlet valve is actuated depending on the pressure in the working space such that the pressure in the working space remains constant when the actuation member is displaced, and the actuation member is displaced such that the pump output corresponds to a preset target pump output or the conveyance rate corresponds to a preset target conveyance rate.

14. Method according to claim 12, wherein the actuation member is controlled depending on the pressure in the working space such that the pressure in the working space remains constant when the actuation member is displaced, and the outlet valve is actuated such that the pump output corresponds to a preset target pump output or the conveyance rate corresponds to a preset target conveyance rate.

Description

[0026] Embodiments of the invention are explained in detail below with reference to the drawings,

in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic view of an embodiment of the positive displacement pump according to the invention,

[0028] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment for controlling the outlet valve and the actuation member of the positive displacement pump, and

[0029] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment for controlling the outlet valve and the actuation member of the positive displacement pump.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a highly simplified schematic view showing a medical treatment apparatus, in particular a dialysis apparatus, which has the positive displacement pump 1 according to the invention. The dialysis apparatus comprises an extracorporeal blood circuit 2, which is shown only schematically. A medical fluid is conveyed by means of the positive displacement pump 1 in order to carry out the treatment, which fluid is provided in a container 3. In the present embodiment, an anticoagulant solution is supplied to the extracorporeal blood circuit 2 by means of the positive displacement pump 1.

[0031] The positive displacement pump 1 comprises a pumping device 4 that has a pumping chamber 5 which is a component of a cassette 6 (disposable) that is intended for single use and is inserted in a receiving unit 7 of the dialysis apparatus. The pumping chamber 5 comprises an inlet 8, to which an inlet line 9 is connected, and an outlet 10, to which an outlet line 11 is connected. The inlet line 9 is connected to the container 3 for the treatment fluid, in particular anticoagulant solution, and the outlet line 11 is connected to the extracorporeal blood circuit 2. The inflow of fluid, in particular anticoagulant solution, into the pumping chamber 5 is controlled by an inlet valve 12, and the outflow of fluid from the pumping chamber 5 is controlled by an outlet valve 13. The inlet valve 12 and the outlet valve 13, which can be in the form of electromagnetic or pneumatic valves, are controlled by a control unit 14, which may be a component of the central control unit of the treatment apparatus.

[0032] The pumping chamber 5, which can have a cylindrical pumping space, is tightly sealed by a flexible membrane 15 which is attached to the top of the cassette 6.

[0033] In addition, the positive displacement pump 1 comprises an actuation device 16 on the unit, to which actuation device the pumping device 4 on the disposable can be coupled in a sealing manner. The sealing is achieved by opposing contact surfaces 17, 18 of the pumping device 4 and of the actuation device 16.

[0034] The actuation device 16 comprises a working chamber 19 which may have a cylindrical working space that can be coupled to the pumping chamber 5 of the actuation device 4 in a sealing manner. An actuation member 20, which may be a piston, is guided in a longitudinally displaceable manner in the working chamber 19. The actuation member 20 is driven by means of a drive device 21, which may have an electric motor 22 that actuates the piston via a coupling mechanism (not shown).

[0035] When the pumping device 16 is coupled to the actuation device 4, a volume of air is enclosed in the working chamber 19 of the actuation device between the actuation member 20, i.e. the end face of the piston, such that a stroke movement of the piston leads to deformation of the positive displacement element (membrane) 15, as a result of which fluid is displaced from the pumping chamber 5. In this case, the volume of air displaced by the piston corresponds to the volume of liquid displaced from the pumping chamber.

[0036] The control unit 14 for controlling the drive device 21 and the inlet and outlet valves 12, 13 may have, for example, a general processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) for continuously processing digital signals, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an integrated circuit consisting of logic elements (FPGA) or other integrated circuits (IC) or hardware components, in order to perform the individual method steps for controlling the pressure or flow. A data processing program (software) can run on the hardware components in order to carry out the method steps.

[0037] The control unit 21 controls the inlet and outlet valves 12, 13 such that, in the suction phase, the inlet valve 12 is open and the outlet valve 13 is closed and, in the pressure phase, the inlet valve 12 is closed and the outlet valve 13 is open.

[0038] In FIG. 1, all the components are shown only schematically. The inlet and outlet valves may also have components on the disposable and on the unit.

[0039] In order to set a precise pump output or conveyance rate, the control unit 14 provides the following control for the drive device 21 of the actuation member 20 and for the inlet valve 12 and the outlet valve 13.

[0040] The invention is based on the thermal state equation of ideal gases (p V=n R.sub.m T, in which p is the pressure, V is the volume, n is the amount of substance, R.sub.m is the molar gas constant and T is the temperature). According to the general gas equation, if the pressure p and the temperature T in the working chamber 19 are kept constant, the volume of air enclosed in the working space does not change during the stroke movement of the actuation member (piston). The pressure is therefore kept constant. The control unit 14 comprises a pressure measuring device 23, for example an electronic pressure sensor, which measures the actual pressure in the working chamber 19.

[0041] Two alternative embodiments of the control are described in the following. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the control of the pressure and the flow. The individual components are provided with the same reference signs in FIGS. 2 and 3 as in FIG. 1, the pumping chamber 19 and the working chamber 5 being shown in a highly simplified manner.

[0042] In the first embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured such that, in the pressure phase, the control unit controls the outlet valve 13 depending on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 23 such that the pressure p in the working chamber 19 remains constant during the stroke movement of the piston 20. In this case, the control unit 14 measures the actual pressure past by means of the pressure sensor 23 and compares the actual pressure with the target pressure p.sub.soll, which is intended to be kept constant. In order to increase or reduce the actual pressure, the valve body of the outlet valve 13 is correspondingly opened or closed such that the pressure is constant.

[0043] In the first embodiment, the pump output of the positive displacement pump is controlled via the displacement path of the actuation member, which path is measured by means of a path sensor 24. The control unit 14 is configured such that the actual pump output or the actual conveyance rate is calculated on the basis of the measured displacement path of the actuation member. The displaced volume of air, which corresponds to the pump output, is calculated from the product of the displacement path x, measured by means of the path sensor 24, and the cross-sectional area of the working chamber 19 or of the end face of the piston 20. The control unit 14 controls the drive device 21 such that the actual pump output corresponds to the target pump output or the actual conveyance rate Q.sub.ist corresponds to the target conveyance rate Q.sub.soll.

[0044] In the alternative embodiment, the control unit 14 is configured such that, in the pressure phase, the drive device 21 is controlled depending on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 23 such that the pressure p in the working chamber remains constant when the actuation member is displaced. In order to increase or reduce the actual pressure past to the constant target pressure p.sub.soll, the control unit 14 respectively increases or reduces the feed rate of the actuation member. For this purpose, the speed of the electric motor 22 can be increased or reduced. In this case, the outlet valve 13 is controlled by the control unit 14 such that the actual pump output corresponds to the target pump output or the actual conveyance rate Q.sub.ist corresponds to the target conveyance rate Q.sub.soll. In order to increase or reduce the pump output or conveyance rate, the outlet valve is further opened or closed, respectively.