Implantable Hemofiltration Device with S-Shaped Flow Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with chronic kidney disease require frequent and lengthy dialysis treatments, which significantly restrict their lifestyle and impose a heavy load on their blood vessels due to the current need for frequent hospital visits and prolonged bed rest, and existing technologies do not effectively address the inefficiencies in blood filtration processes.
Innovation Solution
A hemofiltration device is designed for implantation in mammals, featuring a blood flow path layer, a filtrate flow path layer, and a filtration membrane, with a filtrate outlet positioned closer to the blood outlet than the inlet to prevent blood mixing, and a compact, polygonal or circular main body with equidistant fastening means for uniform compression and reduced leakage, along with surface features that enhance blood flow and prevent biofouling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the filtrate outlet is positioned closer to the blood inlet, then the filtration path is extended, but blood mixes into the filtrate causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional positioning logic by placing the filtrate outlet closer to the blood inlet rather than the blood outlet. This counterintuitive arrangement, combined with the unidirectional flow design of the S-shaped blood flow path, ensures that filtrate is collected from the upstream region where blood concentration is highest, preventing contamination while maintaining efficient filtration across the extended membrane surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the linear blood flow path into a three-dimensional S-shaped configuration within the filtration chamber. This spatial rearrangement allows the blood flow to traverse the entire filtration membrane surface area while keeping the inlet and outlet positioned on the same side, effectively separating the filtration function from the simple inlet-outlet distance and enabling both high productivity and reliability.
2Volume of moving object
If the device size is reduced for implantation, then the patient's quality of life improves, but the filtration surface area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where the S-shaped blood flow path is contained within a compact filtration chamber, which itself is integrated into the main device body. This nested arrangement allows the blood flow to follow an extended S-shaped trajectory through the filtration membrane, maximizing the effective filtration surface area within a minimized external device volume suitable for implantation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional spatial arrangement to pack the filtration surface area efficiently within a small volume. The S-shaped blood flow path configuration allows the filtration membrane to be folded and arranged in multiple layers, increasing the effective filtration area without proportionally increasing the device's external dimensions, thus maintaining high filtration rate in a compact implantable form.
3Volume of moving object
If the blood flow path has sharp turns to fit compact space, then the device size is reduced, but biofouling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies smooth curved transitions in the S-shaped blood flow path design, replacing sharp angular turns with gradual arcs. This curvature optimization allows the blood to flow smoothly through the compact filtration chamber following the S-shaped trajectory, minimizing turbulence and stagnation zones that would promote biofouling, while still achieving the space-efficient compact configuration necessary for implantation.
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 device enables highly efficient hemofiltration with reduced blood vessel load and improved filtration rates, allowing for stable and effective filtration of blood, thereby enhancing the quality of life for patients by minimizing treatment frequency and duration.
Implementation Method 1
a filtration membrane interposed between the blood flow path layer and the filtrate flow path layer, the filtration membrane being adapted to filter the blood flowing through the blood flow path
Data Source
AI summary
A hemofiltration device capable of surely performing highly-efficient hemofiltration. The hemofiltration device of the present invention is adapted to be implanted in a mammalian body for filtering blood, and includes a blood flow path layer having a blood flow path, a filtrate flow path layer having a filtrate flow path disposed along the blood flow path, and a filtration membrane interposed between the blood flow path layer and the filtrate flow path layer, for filtering the blood flowing through the blood flow path. A filtrate outlet of the filtrate flow path is provided at a position closer to a blood outlet than to a blood inlet of the blood flow path. The blood inlet, blood outlet, and filtrate outlet are provided only on one side or separately on opposite sides of a main body portion in the direction in which the layers are stacked.