Integrated Dialyzer Pump With Magnetic Levitation for Safer Blood Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood treatment systems for renal failure are cumbersome, require multiple setup steps, are prone to human error, and have high potential for contamination due to complex setups and extensive tubing, leading to increased costs and risks.
Innovation Solution
A magnetically driven, magnetically levitating pump rotor integrated into a dialyzer with consolidated components, including pressure sensor chambers and flexible membranous walls, simplifies setup and reduces contamination risks, while allowing for integrated HD and HDF treatments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional blood treatment systems use separate pumps and extensive tubing, then blood can be circulated through the dialyzer, but the system becomes cumbersome, increases setup time, and raises contamination risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pump and dialyzer into a single integrated unit, eliminating separate pumps and extensive tubing connections. The pump chamber is formed within the dialyzer housing, creating a unified system that reduces contamination risk from multiple connection points while simplifying the overall device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated dialyzer-pump unit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the filtration device (dialyzer) and the circulation device (pump). The housing serves dual purposes as both structural support and pump chamber containment, reducing the number of separate components needed.
2Productivity
If traditional systems use extensive tubing and multiple connection points, then blood flow can be maintained, but setup time increases and human error potential rises
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the pump chamber directly into the dialyzer housing, the system eliminates multiple separate components that need to be assembled. The blood flow path is established through integrated channels within the housing rather than through external tubing, dramatically reducing setup time and the potential for assembly errors.
3Reliability
If traditional systems use mechanical seals and contact bearings in pumps, then blood can be pumped, but hemolysis risk increases due to mechanical stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical pump components (seals, bearings, rotating impellers) with a magnetic drive system. A magnetic coupling transfers rotational force from an external motor to the pump rotor without physical contact, eliminating mechanical wear and the associated hemolysis risk while maintaining effective blood pumping.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic field acts as an intermediary to transmit mechanical energy from the external motor to the pump rotor without direct mechanical contact. This magnetic coupling allows the pump rotor to be driven while remaining isolated from the motor shaft, preventing mechanical stress and hemolysis.
4Reliability
If separate pumps and dialyzers are used, then each component can be optimized independently, but the overall system requires more space and has more potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The integration of pump and dialyzer functions into a single unit reduces the total number of components and connection points, thereby reducing potential failure points. The unified design maintains the ability to optimize performance while eliminating the reliability issues associated with multiple separate components and their interconnections.
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
The integrated dialyzer system reduces setup time, minimizes tubing length, lowers hemolysis risk, and decreases contamination potential, thereby reducing treatment costs and enhancing patient safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
magnetically driven, magnetically levitating pump rotor integrated into the dialyzer
Implementation Method 2
The pump impeller is connected by a magnetic coupling to the driving motor
Implementation Method 3
Diffuse mass transport is predominant in hemodialysis (HD), while in hemofiltration (HF) convective mass transport through a membrane is used
Implementation Method 4
in hemofiltration (HF) convective mass transport through a membrane is used
Implementation Method 5
blood passes from the patient through a dialyzer that includes a semi-permeable membrane to separate the blood from a large volume of externally-supplied dialysis solution
Implementation Method 6
pressure sensor chambers with flexible membranous walls against which corresponding pressure transducers of the treatment modules can interface to detect arterial and/or venous pressures
Data Source
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AI summary
Dialyzer systems can consolidate multiple technologies and functionalities of blood treatment systems in a significantly integrated fashion. For example, this disclosure describes dialyzer systems that include a magnetically driven and magnetically levitating pump rotor integrated into the dialyzer. Such a dialyzer can be used with treatment modules that include a magnetic field-generating pump drive unit. In some embodiments, the dialyzers include pressure sensor chambers with flexible membranes with which corresponding pressure transducers of the treatment modules can interface to detect arterial and/or venous pressures.