Blood Circuit Priming with Electrolyte-Matched Replacement Fluid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional extracorporeal blood treatment systems require a separate priming liquid bag, which increases complexity and may disrupt electrolyte balances in patients, especially in small children, and existing methods using dialysate as priming fluid are slow and risk exposure to the atmosphere.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing extracorporeal blood or replacement liquids from the pre-blood pump (PBP) or replacement bags as priming fluid, eliminating the need for a separate priming liquid bag and allowing these fluids to be infused without disrupting electrolyte levels, by pumping them through the blood and dialysate circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate priming liquid bag is used, then the blood circuit can be primed with sterile saline solution, but the device complexity increases and additional setup steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the priming liquid source with the existing blood or replacement fluid bag, eliminating the need for a separate priming liquid bag. The blood pump is configured to pump priming liquid from the blood bag or replacement fluid bag through the blood circuit, merging two functions (priming and blood/replacement fluid delivery) into a single integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The blood bag or replacement fluid bag serves dual purposes: it provides both priming liquid for circuit priming and blood or replacement fluid for patient infusion. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for dedicated separate bags for each function, reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If conventional saline solution is used for priming, then air and particles can be purged from the circuit, but electrolyte balances in patients may be disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the composition parameter of the priming liquid from conventional sterile saline solution to blood or replacement fluid that matches the patient's electrolyte composition. This parameter change ensures that the priming liquid performs both its priming function and its physiological compatibility function simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the patient's own blood or compatible replacement fluid to prime the circuit, allowing the circuit to be primed with a fluid that is already physiologically appropriate for the patient, eliminating the need for separate electrolyte-balanced priming solutions.
3Reliability
If dialysate is used as priming fluid, then the blood circuit can be primed, but the process becomes slow and exposure to atmosphere increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the priming function from the dialysate generation process, allowing the blood pump to independently pump priming liquid from the blood bag or replacement fluid bag through the blood circuit without requiring dialysate to be generated and circulated first, thereby speeding up the priming process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Simplifies the setup of blood treatment systems, reduces the risk of contamination, and ensures that the priming fluid does not upset electrolyte balances in patients, as the priming liquid can be safely infused without causing electrolyte imbalances.
Implementation Method 1
A peristaltic blood pump 18 (such as a roller pump) moves priming liquid from the bag 12
Implementation Method 2
A portion of the priming fluid may pass through a semipermeable membrane between the effluent chamber 46 and the blood chamber 24
Data Source
AI summary
A blood treatment system is primed with a replacement liquid that flows directly into the access line of the blood circuit. The replacement liquid may be replacement fluid or blood stored in the replacement bag or the pre-blood pump (PBP) bag. These replacement liquids from the replacement and PBP bags are also used during blood treatment. These replacement liquids are blood or a replacement fluid and, particularly, have electrolyte levels the same as or similar to the electrolyte levels in the vascular blood of the patient.