Dialysis Water Distillation Unit for On-Demand Fluid Preparation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical fluid therapies, such as peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, face challenges in water purification at the point of use, leading to complex and expensive systems that require centralized water purification units and significant storage of treatment fluids.
Innovation Solution
A water distillation unit integrated with a heater, condenser, and optional finishing filters to produce highly purified water (WFI) directly at the point of use, utilizing a control unit for temperature and conductivity monitoring, and communication with medical fluid therapy machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If centralized water purification units are used, then water purification quality is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the water purification function into modular components: a distillation unit for bulk purification and finishing filters for final polishing. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high purification quality while maintaining manageable complexity through standardized, replaceable modules rather than a single complex centralized unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using distillation as a pre-treatment step before final filtration. The distillation unit produces highly purified water that then passes through simpler finishing filters, rather than requiring a single complex purification system to handle all purification requirements in one step.
2Reliability
If multiple pre-sterilized bags are stored, then treatment fluid availability is improved, but storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the system to produce its own treatment fluid on-demand using the distillation unit, eliminating the need to store multiple pre-sterilized bags. The distillation unit continuously purifies water from the storage tank, allowing the system to generate fresh dialysis fluid as needed, thus ensuring treatment fluid availability without requiring extensive storage space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state of water from liquid storage (multiple bags) to vapor phase during distillation, then condenses it back to liquid. This phase change enables continuous purification and storage of large volumes of water in a compact tank, rather than requiring multiple separate pre-filled bags, thereby reducing storage space while maintaining fluid availability.
3Quantity of substance
If online water purification is implemented, then storage requirements are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential purification function into a dedicated distillation unit that can be integrated with the dialysis system. Rather than requiring complex centralized purification equipment, the extracted distillation unit provides sufficient purification capability for home use, reducing storage requirements while keeping the added complexity manageable through a focused, single-purpose purification device.
4Reliability
If distillation is used for water purification, then purification quality is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous distillation operation where the distillation unit operates continuously or periodically to maintain a supply of purified water in the storage tank. This continuous operation allows the system to produce purified water during off-peak times or continuously at lower power levels, rather than requiring high-energy bursts, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining high purification quality.
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
Enables efficient, cost-effective, and space-saving production of medical fluids by reducing the need for centralized water purification equipment and minimizing storage requirements, while ensuring the quality and temperature of the produced water meets therapeutic standards.
Implementation Method 1
a heater configured to boil unpurified water to form water vapor
Implementation Method 2
a heater configured to boil unpurified water to form water vapor
Implementation Method 3
a condenser configured to condense the water vapor into purified water
Data Source
AI summary
A peritoneal dialysis system is disclosed. In an example, a peritoneal dialysis system includes a mixing container configured to accept purified water and peritoneal dialysis fluid concentrate to form fresh peritoneal dialysis fluid. The peritoneal dialysis system also includes a distillation unit comprising an unpurified water/used peritoneal dialysis fluid storage tank for receiving unpurified water and used peritoneal dialysis fluid. The distillation unit further includes a heater in fluid communication with the unpurified water/used peritoneal dialysis fluid storage tank. The heater is configured to boil the unpurified water and the used peritoneal dialysis fluid to form water vapor. The distillation unit additionally includes a condenser including a thermally conductive flowpath configured to accept and condense the water vapor and at least one finishing filter positioned to receive and further purify the condensed water vapor into purified water for use in the mixing container to form the fresh peritoneal dialysis fluid.