Dialyzer Ventilation Membrane for Air Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dialyzers face challenges in efficiently and reliably removing air bubbles during the priming process for extracorporeal blood treatment, leading to undesirable level reductions in the venous drip chamber, which prolongs the preparation time and requires additional correction steps.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of a waterproof and air-permeable ventilation membrane with pores ≤0.2 μm, integrated into the dialyzer housing, allows direct escape of air from the blood chamber during filling, reducing air bubble adherence and flow path length, thereby facilitating faster and more reliable air removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the dialyzer is filled with dialysis liquid or saline solution to remove air from the extracorporeal circulation, then the air bubbles escape through the fibers of the dialyzer, but the air bubbles cause level reduction in the venous drip chamber which requires additional correction steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the air removal function from the dialysis liquid circulation path by introducing a separate ventilation outlet that allows air to escape directly from the blood chamber without passing through the dialysis liquid system. This separates the air removal process from the dialysis liquid filling process, eliminating the need for level corrections in the venous drip chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a ventilation membrane as an intermediary component that selectively allows air to pass through while preventing dialysis liquid and blood from escaping. This mediator enables air to be removed directly from the blood chamber through the ventilation outlet, bypassing the need for manual dialyzer manipulation and venous drip chamber level corrections.
2Reliability
If manual methods such as turning the dialyzer or tapping against it are used to remove air, then air bubbles can escape, but the process is time-consuming and requires multiple correction steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service air removal by designing the ventilation outlet with a hydrophobic membrane that automatically allows air to escape during the filling process without requiring manual intervention. The system performs its own air removal function passively during priming, eliminating the need for operators to manually turn or tap the dialyzer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the membrane's permeability characteristics by using a hydrophobic membrane with specific pore size (≤0.2 μm) that allows air to pass through while blocking liquid. This parameter change enables automatic air removal during filling, transforming the air removal process from an active manual operation to a passive automatic process that occurs during normal priming.
3Productivity
If the ventilation outlet allows air to escape directly from the blood chamber, then air removal is faster and more reliable, but the ventilation outlet must be designed to prevent germ entry while allowing air passage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous materials with specifically controlled pore sizes (≤0.2 μm) in the ventilation membrane that allow air molecules to pass through while blocking larger germ particles. This porous structure provides the dual functionality of rapid air removal and sterile barrier protection without requiring complex mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material properties by combining the hydrophobic characteristic with the porous structure in the ventilation membrane. This composite approach creates a single component that simultaneously achieves air permeability, liquid impermeability, and germ barrier functions, simplifying the overall device design while maintaining high productivity in air removal.
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 ventilation membrane enables quicker air removal from the dialyzer, minimizing level corrections in the venous drip chamber and simplifying the preparation process for blood treatment by ensuring complete liquid filling with reduced air presence.
Implementation Method 1
The ventilation outlet or ventilation membrane allows air previously present in the blood chamber to escape when filling the blood chamber with an aqueous liquid... The different permeability of the ventilation membrane with respect to air and aqueous liquid is achieved by the size of pores provided in the ventilation membrane.
Implementation Method 2
these pores have a diameter less than or equal to 0.2 so that the ventilation membrane at the same time serves as a sterile barrier that prevents germs from entering the blood.
Data Source
AI summary
A dialyzer for an extracorporeal blood treatment includes an elongated, preferably cylindrical dialyzer housing, and at least one dialysis membrane that separates an internal space of the dialyzer housing into a dialysis liquid chamber and a blood chamber. The dialysis liquid chamber has a dialysis liquid supply port and a dialysis liquid discharge port. The blood chamber has a blood supply port and a blood discharge port. The dialyzer includes an additional ventilation outlet for ventilating the blood chamber. The additional ventilation outlet is located with respect to a blood flow direction in the blood discharge port between an exit area of the blood discharge port and the dialysis liquid supply port. A corresponding dialysis device includes a ventilation outlet on a dialyzer housing or on a hose connected to a blood discharge port.