Dialysis Blood Flow Control via Pressure Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dialysis machines face challenges in optimizing blood flow to maximize cleaning performance while minimizing recirculation, which is crucial for effective toxin removal during dialysis treatments, and current methods are either complex or inefficient in determining the optimal blood flow rate.
Innovation Solution
The dialysis machine adjusts blood flow linearly over a predetermined time, monitoring venous and arterial pressures, and dialysis fluid parameters using sensors to determine the optimal flow rate, accounting for delays in parameter measurement, and automatically adjusts to maximize toxin removal on the dialysis fluid side.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If blood flow is increased to maximize cleaning performance, then toxin removal efficiency is improved, but recirculation increases and cleaning performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors venous and arterial pressures and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust blood flow rate. The control unit compares real-time pressure measurements with target values and automatically modifies Qb to maintain optimal cleaning performance while preventing recirculation, resolving the contradiction between maximizing toxin removal and minimizing recirculation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the blood flow rate parameter dynamically based on measured pressure values. By adjusting Qb according to the relationship between arterial and venous pressure differences and measured pressures, the system optimizes toxin removal efficiency while preventing recirculation conditions.
2Productivity
If blood flow is set high for maximum cleaning performance, then treatment efficiency is improved, but recirculation risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system uses continuous feedback from pressure sensors to monitor the risk of recirculation and adjusts blood flow accordingly. This ensures high treatment efficiency is maintained while recirculation risk is kept below critical thresholds through automatic regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static blood flow settings to dynamic adjustment, where Qb is continuously modified based on real-time pressure measurements. This allows the system to adapt to changing patient conditions and maintain optimal performance without exceeding safe operating limits.
3Adaptability or versatility
If blood flow is adjusted manually to optimize cleaning, then treatment customization is improved, but operator workload and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic self-regulation of blood flow based on measured pressure values and pre-stored target values. The control unit independently adjusts Qb without requiring continuous operator intervention, reducing complexity while maintaining treatment customization through automated adaptation to patient-specific conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated feedback control system eliminates the need for manual trial-and-error adjustment by continuously monitoring pressures and automatically modifying blood flow to achieve optimal cleaning performance, thereby reducing operator workload while maintaining treatment adaptability.
4Productivity
If measurements are taken to determine optimal blood flow, then cleaning performance optimization is improved, but measurement time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Target pressure values are predetermined and stored in memory before treatment begins. This preliminary preparation allows the control system to immediately compare measured pressures with target values and adjust blood flow without requiring time-consuming calculations or iterative measurements during treatment initiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses continuous real-time feedback from pressure sensors to determine optimal blood flow, eliminating the need for separate measurement phases. The feedback mechanism provides immediate information about system state, allowing rapid optimization without extended measurement times.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to adjusting blood flow in a blood treatment machine / dialysis machine. To ensure that the blood flow is optimal during dialysis treatment, the following steps are performed during automatic blood flow adjustment according to the invention: Specifying (17) a target blood flow value, Qb_target, changing (18) the blood flow, Qb, with a specified blood flow change rate, comparing (19, 20) a venous pressure, PV, with a venous pressure threshold, an arterial pressure, PA, with an arterial pressure threshold, and the blood flow, Qb, with the target blood flow value, Qb_target, determining (21) the occurrence of a dialysis fluid parameter threshold, and storing (22) an optimal blood flow value, Qb_optimum, depending on a blood flow (corresponding to a value stored in a data table that takes into account the target blood flow value and the measurement delay) in a blood flow optimum value memory.for which the dialysis fluid parameter threshold has been determined, or for which the venous pressure threshold or the arterial pressure threshold has been reached, or when the blood flow target value has been reached.