68 results about "Blood inflow" patented technology

A blood pump-oxygenator system (250A, 250B, 250C) for increasing perfusion and oxygen levels in the body of a patient (P), comprising: a blood inlet (80) and a blood outlet (90) connected to form a circuit operable as a cardiopulmonary bypass system suitable for extracorporeal treatment of the blood of the patient; a first blood pump (11) and a first oxygenator (20), wherein the first blood pump (11) is configured to deliver blood from the patient (P) through the circuit to the blood inflow port (80), through the first oxygenator (20), out of the blood outflow port (90) and back to the patient (P). The system further comprises a second blood pump (13) and a second oxygenator (21), wherein the second blood pump (13) is configured to deliver blood from the patient (P) through the circuit to the blood inflow port (80), through the second oxygenator (20), out of the blood outflow port (90) and back to the patient (P). The circuit comprises a first branch (101) and a second branch (102) arranged in parallel with each other, the first branch (101) accommodating the first blood pump (11) and the first oxygenator (20), and the second branch (102) accommodating the second blood pump (13) and the second oxygenator (21). The system further comprises a pump control unit (290) wherein the first and second blood pumps (11, 13) are configured to be controlled by the pump control unit (290) to increase or decrease the blood flow through the corresponding oxygenator (20, 21) by changing the proportion of the blood flow through the first and second oxygenator (20, 21).

An example aneurysm implant can include a tubular braid that can have an open end, a pinched end, and a predetermined shape. In the predetermined shape, the tubular braid can have three segments and two inversions, one of the three segments extending between the two inversions and forming a sack. Two of the segments can form a substantially semispherical shape. The tubular braid can be implanted in an implanted shape based on the predetermined shape. The substantially semispherical shape of the tubular braid can aid in decreasing a pulsatile blood inflow rate and a pulsatile blood outflow rate for a substantially spherical aneurysm cavity.

The invention discloses an interventional sheath set, an interventional device and a sheathing canal, the interventional sheath set comprises an outer sheath and an inner sheath, and the outer sheath comprises an elastic sheathing canal extending in the axial direction of the outer sheath and a first passage defined by the elastic sheathing canal; a second passage extending in the axial direction of the inner sheath is arranged in the inner sheath, the outer sheath is arranged in the mode that when the inner sheath extends into the first passage, at least part of the elastic sheath tube expands and wraps the inner sheath extending into the first passage, and the second passage is communicated with the first passage; and when the inner sheath moves out of the first passage, the elastic sheath tube rebounds. The outer sheath comprises the elastic sheath tube, when the inner sheath intervenes into the first passage, the inner sheath enables the outer sheath to expand and wrap the surface of the inner sheath, the first passage is expanded, subsequent intervention of the interventional instrument is facilitated, after the interventional instrument reaches a designated position, the inner sheath is withdrawn, the elastic sheath tube rebounds and wraps the surface of the interventional instrument, and the interventional instrument is prevented from being damaged. The interventional diameter is reduced, and blood is prevented from flowing into the space between the elastic sheath tube and the interventional instrument to form thrombus.

A blood pump comprises a pump casing having a blood flow inlet and a blood flow outlet, and an impeller arranged in said pump casing so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation. The impeller has blades sized and shaped for conveying blood from the blood flow inlet to the blood flow outlet. The blood pump also has an outflow cannula having an upstream end portion, a downstream end portion and an intermediate portion extending between the upstream end portion and the downstream end portion. The upstream end portion of the outflow cannula is connected to the pump casing such that blood is conveyed from the blood flow outlet of the pump casing into and through the intermediate portion of the outflow cannula towards the downstream end portion of the outflow cannula, wherein the downstream end portion has a blood flow outlet through which blood can exit the outflow cannula. At least a portion of the intermediate portion of the outflow cannula has an outer diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the pump casing.

The utility model provides a bubble catcher and a blood purification system, and relates to the technical field of medical equipment.The bubble catcher comprises a shell, the shell comprises a top wall and a first side wall, the first side wall is obliquely arranged relative to the top wall, a liquid inlet hole is formed in the top wall, the first side wall is located on the extension side in the axial direction of the liquid inlet hole, and the first side wall is located in the extension side in the axial direction of the liquid inlet hole; liquid flowing out of the liquid inlet hole can fall on the first side wall; the fixing part is arranged on the outer wall of the shell, and the fixing part is used for being fixedly connected with the outside. According to the bubble capturer provided by the embodiment of the invention, the installation work of the bubble capturer can be simplified, and the situation that bubbles are generated or blood cells are damaged due to large fall during blood return can be reduced; meanwhile, due to the fact that the first side wall which is obliquely arranged can play a certain buffering role when the blood flows into the bubble catcher, the blood flow speed can be further increased, and the blood coagulation condition can be reduced.

The application relates to the field of medical devices, in particular to an implant capable of avoiding interlayer reflux, which comprises an anchoring device, a closing aid, and an adjusting mechanism, the closing aid is fixed on atrial tissue through the anchoring device, one end of the adjusting mechanism is connected with the closing aid, and the other end of the adjusting mechanism is fixed on ventricular tissue or apical tissue, the closing aid comprises a first patch and a second patch, one side of the first patch close to the anchoring device is a root, and the other side of the first patch away from the anchoring device is a head, wherein the first patch is arranged above the second patch, and the first patch and the second patch cooperate to form a pocket structure with an opening direction towards the head direction; the application can effectively avoid the existence of a gap between the closing aid and the autologous valve leaflet, so that blood flowing into the gap can be prevented from being accumulated into thrombus, calcified and other adverse conditions, and the application has good clinical significance.

This invention relates to the field of medical devices, and particularly to a novel tracheostomy occlusion device, comprising an operating table, a fixation plate, an adjustment mechanism, and an execution mechanism. This invention addresses the following problems encountered in the practical use of tracheostomy auxiliary retraction devices: prolonged holding of the retractor by the surgical assistant can cause soreness and lead to shaking of the retractor, which in turn can cause neck movement, affecting the normal progress of the surgery and potentially causing further trauma to the patient's trachea. Furthermore, it cannot effectively manage blood flowing from the neck, which may lead to blood entering the trachea and causing respiratory discomfort, even threatening the patient's life; the portion of the tracheostomy cannula inside the trachea obstructs the airway, affecting the patient's ability to cough up sputum and leading to inaccurate assessments of the patient's coughing ability; and it can easily cause blind sinus tracts to form at the tracheostomy site.

An intravascular blood pump (1) comprises a pump housing (2) having a blood inflow (21) and a blood outflow (22), and an impeller (3) arranged in the pump housing (2) to be rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the impeller (3) has blades (31) which are dimensioned and shaped for conveying blood from the blood inflow (21) to the blood outflow (22). The blood pump (1) further comprises a drive unit (4) for rotating the impeller (3), the drive unit (4) comprising a plurality of posts (40) arranged about the axis of rotation (10), wherein each of the posts (40) comprises a stem portion (41) and a head portion (42). Coil windings (470) around the posts are controllable in sequence to generate a rotating magnetic field. The drive unit (4) further comprises a back plate (50) which engages with the end (44) of the stem portion (41) of the posts (40) opposite the head portion (42).

The utility model relates to the technical field of vein blood sampling, in particular to an anti-backflow vein blood sampling device. The utility model provides an anti-backflow vein blood sampling device which can effectively prevent blood from flowing back and ensure normal blood sampling work. An anti-backflow vein blood sampling device comprises a needle head, a connecting piece, a needle wing, a connecting pipe, a fixing assembly and the like, the connecting piece is connected to the left portion of the needle head, the needle wing is connected to the upper side of the right portion of the connecting piece, the connecting pipe is connected to the left side of the connecting piece, and the fixing assembly capable of being fixed to an arm is arranged on the connecting piece. After blood flows into the control cylinder, the blood flows into the conical thin film and the hard tube, the conical thin film and the hard tube are kept in linear communication and then flow out of the collecting head, and after the blood stops flowing into the conical thin film, the hard tube droops under the action of gravity to block the conical thin film, so that the blood can be effectively prevented from flowing back; and the effect of normal blood sampling work is ensured.

An intravascular blood pump (1) comprises a pump casing (2) having a blood flow inlet (21) and a blood flow outlet (22), and an impeller (3) arranged in said pump casing (2) so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation, wherein the impeller (3) has blades (31) sized and shaped for conveying blood from the blood flow inlet (21) to the blood flow outlet (22). The blood pump (1) further comprises a drive unit (104) for rotating the impeller (3), the drive unit (104) comprising a plurality of posts (140) arranged about the axis of rotation (10). Coil windings (47) around the posts are sequentially controllable so as to create a rotating magnetic field. The shaft portion (141) of each of the posts (140) comprises a soft magnetic material which is discontinuous in cross-section transverse to the longitudinal axis of the respective post (140).

The invention relates to an intravascular blood pump. The blood pump comprises a pump section having a proximal portion with a blood flow inlet and a distal portion with a blood flow outlet and an impeller for causing blood to flow into the blood flow inlet and towards the blood flow outlet. The blood pump further comprises at least one filter connected to the proximal portion of the pump section and arranged with respect to the blood flow inlet so as to filter the blood before it enters the blood flow inlet. The filter may comprise an expandable mesh structure made of a shape-memory material.

A filter device according to the present invention is to be mounted on a centrifugal separator and includes: a first space which is formed in a housing and into which blood flows; a second space which is formed in the housing and from which blood flows out; a partition wall that separates the first space and the second space and that is formed with a communication port establishing communication between the first space and the second space; and a white-blood-cell removal filter that is disposed in the second space. The first space is located between the partition wall and a first main surface of the housing, and the second space is located between the partition wall and a second main surface of the housing.

The utility model discloses a blood collecting and separating device which comprises a separating cup, the separating cup comprises a cup body, a cup cover, a static head, an upper cover and a lower cover, a blood inlet and a blood outlet in the top of the static head are both vertically arranged, and the upper cover and the lower cover are connected with the bottom of the static head; the upper end of the lower cover is communicated with the blood inlet to form a blood inflow channel, and a space between the inner walls of the upper cover and the lower cover is communicated with the blood outlet to form a blood outflow channel; the liquid inlet end of the blood inflow channel penetrates through the cup cover along the interior of the lower cover and extends into the bottom of the cup body; the liquid outlet end of the blood outflow channel penetrates through the cup cover to be located at the cup opening along the top of the cup body and enters the gap between the upper cover and the lower cover. By improving the structure of the static head, automatic assembly of the separation cup and a consumable pipeline during use can be facilitated, meanwhile, automatic assembly in the production process of the separation cup can be facilitated by improving the connecting structure between the static head and the upper cover and the connecting structure between the static head and the lower cover, and production efficiency is improved.

The application relates to the technical field of medical devices, in particular to a catheter pump assembly and a processing method thereof. The catheter pump assembly comprises a blood flow channel, a blood inflow cage and a blood outflow cage. The blood flow channel comprises a spring body support which is coiled by a shape memory alloy wire. The inner side of the spring body support is covered with an inner layer film, and the outer side is covered with an outer layer film. The two ends of the inner layer film and the outer layer film respectively extend to the two ends close to the spring body support, so that at least part of the spring body support is located at the connecting part of the blood flow channel, the blood inflow cage and the blood outflow cage. According to the technical scheme provided by the application, the connecting part of at least part of the blood flow channel, the blood inflow cage and the blood outflow cage is supported by the spring body support, thereby improving the bending resistance of the connecting part of the blood inflow cage, the blood outflow cage and the blood flow channel, overcoming the risk of breakage or falling of the connecting part, and ensuring the reliability of the catheter pump in use.

The invention relates to the technical field of medical instruments, in particular to a common carotid artery piercing sheath with an inflatable balloon, which comprises a first catheter and a second catheter, the first catheter is communicated with the second catheter, and the first catheter is used for being inserted into an artery and used for guiding blood in the artery to enable the blood to flow into the second catheter; a limiting assembly is arranged on the outer side wall of the first catheter and is used for inserting the first catheter into a blood vessel and blocking and closing the blood vessel; the tail end of the second catheter is connected with an adjusting assembly, and the other end, away from the first catheter, of the second catheter is connected with an external conveying pipe. The air bag is divided into a plurality of independent inflation cavities by the diaphragms, and can be inflated and expanded in a partitioned mode in sequence, so that the air bag can adapt to the shape of a blood vessel, uniform sealing attached to the wall of the blood vessel is achieved, and local compression or incomplete sealing caused by deviation of the air bag is avoided; suddenly impact of one-time overall expansion of a traditional air bag on the blood vessel wall is avoided through partitioned inflation, and the risk of injury or spasm of the endangium is reduced.

The utility model discloses a telescopic anti -blocking indwelling needle belongs to medical product technical field, including the catheter seat, the metal wedge is fixedly connected in the catheter seat, one end of metal wedge is fixedly connected with the flexible catheter, and the one end of flexible catheter is away from metal wedge and is penetrated to the front side of catheter seat, the isolation plug assembly is arranged in the catheter seat, and the isolation plug assembly is located the back of metal wedge, the rear portion of catheter seat is slidably connected with the telescopic push pipe of multiple sections, and the rear end of telescopic push pipe of multiple sections is penetrated to the back of catheter seat, the rear portion of telescopic push pipe of multiple sections is fixedly connected with silica gel gasket, and the rear end of telescopic push pipe of multiple sections is detachably connected with needle core seat, when the patient does not transfuse, the telescopic push pipe of multiple sections can retract to the catheter seat, and the blocking pipe is inserted into the flexible catheter and is completed to block, prevent the blood flow of patient to cause the blockage in the flexible catheter, shorten the length of whole indwelling needle simultaneously, and the paste fixing of patient's hand is convenient.

This invention relates to an intravascular blood pump, comprising a pumping device with a pump section and a drive section, wherein the pump section comprises a pump casing having a primary blood flow inlet and a primary blood flow outlet hydraulically connected by a primary passage and the drive section comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation and configured to rotate a primary impeller, the primary impeller being configured to convey a primary blood flow from the primary blood flow inlet to the primary blood flow outlet along the primary passage, the drive section further comprises an ancillary blood flow inlet and an ancillary blood flow outlet hydraulically connected by an ancillary passage extending through an axial gap between the rotor and the stator and an ancillary impeller arranged at a drive section end (DSE) of the rotor and rotatable about the axis of rotation along with the rotor, the ancillary impeller comprising one or more ancillary impeller vanes configured to convey an ancillary blood flow (ABF) from the ancillary blood flow inlet to the ancillary blood flow outlet along the ancillary passage in a direction toward a pump section end (PSE) of the pumping device, and the rotor is mounted in a blood-purged radial sliding rotor bearing with an inner rotor bearing surface and an outer rotor bearing surface, and the ancillary impeller forms the inner rotor bearing surface of the radial sliding rotor bearing.

The present invention discloses an implantable aortic biovalve, comprising a valve stent, an artificial valve, a skirt, and a plurality of anchors. The artificial valve is arranged in the valve stent, dividing the valve stent into a first area and a second area; the skirt is an annular surface covering the second area, and the skirt extends toward the blood inflow end of the aortic valve, and the outer wall of the skirt is used to abut and seal with the leaflets of the aortic valve. The anchors are arranged in the first area, and are evenly or unevenly arranged along the circumference of the valve stent. The anchors have a convex structure, and the convex structure is used to abut with the inner wall of the aortic valve. In this way, the valve stent is fixed to the aortic valve, and at the same time, the skirt is sealed and fitted with the leaflets of the aortic valve, so that the skirt and the leaflets of the aortic valve are kept sealed, effectively improving the sealing between the valve stent and the aortic valve, reducing the risk of leakage outside the valve stent, and reducing the possibility of blood backflow into the left ventricle.

The present invention relates to a dental drain tube, and more particularly, to a dental drain tube for oral use, and more particularly, to a dental drain tube for oral use, which can prevent blood accumulation of abscesses and infections in infected sites where abscesses such as abscesses and cellulitis are formed in dentistry, oral maxillofacial surgery or the like, and sites where swelling is expected to be severe after surgery. The present invention provides a drain tube for discharging to the outside, and discharges abscess, tissue or the drain tube from the most inconvenient position of post-operation discharge. The present invention relates to a dental oral drain tube capable of shortening the recovery time, for which the present invention extends in the longitudinal direction, has a radiation-impermeable line on either the outer surface or the inner surface, is inserted into a desired site of postoperative pain and swelling, fevers at a surgical site, and discharges to the outside. A channel extending along the length direction and providing channels for movement of pus, interstitial fluid or blood to prevent accumulation of interstitial fluid or blood; a drainage hole formed along the longitudinal direction of the main body and through which pus, interstitial fluid, or blood outside the main body flows into the channel; forming a plurality of groove lines on the outer surface of the main body to limit the moving direction of the main body; the method is characterized by including.

A blood pump-oxygenator system for increasing perfusion and oxygen level in a patient comprises a blood flow inlet and outlet forming a circuit operable as a cardiopulmonary bypass system for extracorporeal processing of blood, a first blood pump and first oxygenator. The first blood pump conveys blood through the circuit from the patient into the blood flow inlet, through the first oxygenator and out of the blood flow outlet back into the patient. The system further comprises a second blood pump and second oxygenator. The second blood pump conveys blood through the circuit from the patient into the inlet, through the second oxygenator and out of the outlet back into the patient. A pump control unit controls the first and second pumps to increase or decrease blood flow rate through the respective oxygenator to vary a ratio of flow rates of blood through the first and second oxygenators.

An oxygenator system includes: a canister; a membrane in the canister to provide a gas transfer with blood; a blood inflow tube to deliver blood to the canister; and a blood outflow tube to deliver blood from the canister, wherein one or more of the blood inflow tube or the blood outflow tube includes a curved portion.

A spiral end head hemodialysis catheter comprises a catheter body, a partition, a venous lumen, an arterial lumen, and side openings at one end of the venous lumen and the arterial lumen, a spiral plate body is arranged at the distal end of the partition, both sides of the spiral plate body are integrally connected with the inner side of the catheter body, and venous spiral cavities and arterial spiral cavities are formed at the end of the catheter body; spiral side holes are arranged on the side walls of the catheter body at the inner ends of the two side cuts, and the two spiral side holes are respectively communicated with the venous lumen and the arterial lumen; the spiral plate body forms a spiral support structure on the inner wall of the catheter, increases the support area of the partition on the inner wall of the catheter, improves the kink resistance and fracture strength of the catheter tip, and makes the catheter have stronger stability in the vein; the spiral side holes arranged at the venous lumen and the arterial lumen form a long opening structure, improve the blood flowability, and the spiral side holes can produce spiral guiding effect, reduce blood accumulation, make blood inflow and outflow more smooth, and effectively reduce thrombus formation.

The application discloses a self-mixing blood RNA storage tube and a use method, and belongs to the field of biomedical sample storage devices. The tube body is pre-stored with RNA stabilizing liquid, and the opening end is provided with a rotating sealing cover. The tube body is provided with a double-helix flow guide pipe, and the RNA stabilizing liquid is pre-installed at the bottom of the double-helix flow guide pipe. When blood flows into the tube body, the blood rotates and flows along the spiral flow guide pipe and is automatically mixed. The application sets the double-helix flow guide pipe in the tube body, and directly pre-installs the RNA stabilizing liquid at the bottom of the double-helix flow guide pipe, so that the blood rotates and flows along the spiral path after entering the tube body, the blood is fully contacted and uniformly mixed with the RNA stabilizing liquid in a short time, an additional mixing step is not needed, operation errors are reduced, the RNA storage conditions of all blood sampling samples are ensured to be consistent, and the stability of experimental data is improved. Through the cooperative design of the sealing rubber plug and the rotating sealing cover, the air tightness of the blood before entering the tube body is ensured, and external pollution is prevented.

To provide an intravascular blood pump for assisting a left ventricle of a heart of a patient.SOLUTION: An intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion to a blood vascular system of a patient includes a pump device 30 and a supply catheter 36. The pump device includes a pump part including a blood inflow port, a blood outflow port, and an impeller for transporting blood from the inflow port to the outflow port. The pump device further includes a drive part connected to the pump part and adapted to drive the impeller. A supply line supplies electric energy for driving the impeller to the drive part. The supply catheter 36 supplies electric energy for driving the impeller. The pump part 32 is arranged between the drive part 31 and the supply line 36 in an axial direction. The pump part includes a cannula 35 flexibly bendable. A power transmission line 44 is arranged across the cannula 35 so as to prevent burst in a phenomenon in which the cannula 35 bends.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

An intravascular blood pump for percutaneous insertion into a patient's vasculature comprises a pumping device (30) and a supply catheter. The pumping device comprises a pump section with a blood flow inlet, blood flow outlet, and impeller for conveying blood from the inlet to the outlet and further comprises a drive section connected to the pump section and adapted to drive the impeller. The supply line supplies the drive section with electric energy for driving the impeller. An anchoring structure (25A) is provided at a distal end region of the intravascular blood pump. A connecting catheter (25) may be attached to the anchoring structure from distally in order to guide the intravascular blood pump through the patient's vasculature in a distal direction.

The application aims to provide a series blood pump with large flow and small hemolysis, comprising a blood flow channel and a pumping unit, one end of the blood flow channel is provided with a blood inflow port, the other end is provided with a blood outflow port, the pumping unit comprises an impeller and a motor set for driving the impeller to rotate, the blood pump is used in the process of interventional heart through blood vessels, the plurality of motors are separated from each other, the length of the continuous rigid section is reduced, and therefore the over-bending requirement of the blood vessel can be met; after reaching the designated position in the heart, the connecting mechanism drives the adjacent motors to be connected into a whole, that is, the torques of the plurality of motors are superposed, and therefore a larger load-impeller can be driven to rotate, so that the pumping flow of the blood pump is increased. Under the premise that the flow meets the human body demand, the rotating speed of the series blood pump can be greatly reduced compared with the common blood pump, and therefore the hemolysis can be further reduced.

The invention discloses an anti-displacement artificial heart valve stent, and relates to the technical field of valve stents.The anti-displacement artificial heart valve stent comprises a stent body which is of a net-tube-shaped structure and comprises an inflow section, a transition section and an outflow section which are sequentially arranged in the axial direction, and a valve blade is arranged in the transition section; the end, away from the transition section, of the inflow section is an inflow end for blood inflow, and the end, away from the transition section, of the outflow section is an outflow end for blood outflow. In a natural state, the inflow end and the outflow end are gradually expanded outwards in the direction away from the transition section; the auxetic section is arranged between the transition section and the outflow section in the axis direction of the stent body; the auxetic section is of a geometrical structure with the negative Poisson's ratio characteristic, and when the auxetic section is subjected to axial impact force of blood, the auxetic section deforms to convert axial stretching displacement into radial expansion displacement. According to the present invention, the anti-displacement performance is excellent, the blood vessel is not damaged, and the long-term stability and reliability are provided.

The application relates to the field of medical devices, in particular to a repair device capable of avoiding interlayer reflux, which comprises a closing aid, an anchoring device for fixing the closing aid on atrial tissue, the closing aid comprises a first patch and a second patch, one side of the first patch close to the anchoring device is a root, one side of the first patch away from the anchoring device is a head, the first patch is arranged above the second patch, the first patch and the second patch cooperate to form a pocket structure with an opening direction towards the head direction, and the pocket structure is in a distraction state in a natural state. The application can effectively avoid the existence of a gap between the closing aid and the autologous leaflet, so that blood flowing into the gap can be prevented from being accumulated into thrombus, calcified and other adverse conditions, and has good clinical significance.

The invention discloses a blood inflow cage and a cardiovascular blood pump. The blood inflow cage comprises a cylindrical main body; the bottom of the main body is provided with a hollow cylindrical joint connected with a driving device of the cardiovascular blood pump; an inflow port communicated with the inner cavity is formed in the top of the guide cylinder, and a bottom surface is formed at the bottom of the guide cylinder; at least two flow guide channels are formed from the bottom surface of the guide cylinder to the side wall of the lower part of the main body, so that a conical guide diffusion part is formed at the lower part of the main body; an assembly through hole penetrating through the inner cavity and the connector is formed in the guide diffusion part and used for allowing a driving motor output shaft of the driving device to penetrate through to be connected with an impeller arranged in the inner cavity. Through the design of the blood inflow cage, direct and efficient directional perfusion of blood is achieved, and the blood flow speed and perfusion pressure are increased.

A percutaneous circulatory support device includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet. A shaft is rotatably fixed relative to the housing. An impeller is disposed within the housing and is rotatably supported by the shaft. The impeller is configured to rotate relative to the shaft and the housing to cause blood to flow into the inlet, through the housing, and out of the outlet. A keeper is coupled to the shaft distally relative to the impeller, and the keeper inhibits axial motion of the impeller relative to the shaft.