Parallel Blood Purifiers with Selective Switching for Continuous Therapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blood purification therapies requiring long therapeutic times face challenges in maintaining filtration membrane performance due to gradual degradation and clogging, leading to frequent replacements and increased burdens on healthcare professionals and patients.
Innovation Solution
A blood purification device with a blood circuit that supplies blood to multiple purifiers in parallel, allowing for selective switching of blood and cleaning fluid supply to each purifier, ensuring continuous cleaning and reducing the need for frequent replacements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If blood purification therapy is performed for a long therapeutic time, then the therapeutic effect is improved, but the filtration membrane performance degrades and clogging occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The blood purification device is divided into multiple blood purifiers (first blood purifier and second blood purifier) connected in parallel to the blood circuit. This segmentation allows the system to switch between multiple purification units, enabling one to be used while another is cleaned or maintained, thus preventing performance degradation during long-term therapy
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cleaning actions on the standby blood purifier while the active one is in use. The cleaning fluid supply means supplies cleaning fluid to the standby purifier in advance, so that when switching is needed, the replacement unit is already prepared and clean, maintaining continuous therapeutic effect without performance loss
2Reliability
If blood purifiers are frequently replaced to maintain performance, then the removing performance is maintained, but the burden on healthcare professionals and patients increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous blood purification by having multiple blood purifiers in parallel connection with switching means. While one purifier is in use, another is being cleaned or prepared, ensuring uninterrupted therapeutic action and eliminating the need for therapy interruption during purifier replacement
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service operation through automated switching and cleaning fluid supply. The switch means automatically redirects blood flow between purifiers, and the cleaning fluid supply means automatically cleans the standby unit, reducing manual intervention and burden on healthcare professionals
3Duration of action of moving object
If multiple blood purifiers are connected in parallel with switching means, then the continuous operation is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blood purifiers are designed with universal functionality where each unit can serve both as an active purification unit and a standby unit for cleaning. The switching means and cleaning fluid supply means are integrated into a unified system that manages multiple purifiers using the same operational principles, reducing overall system complexity despite the increased number of components
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
This approach maintains filtration membrane performance throughout therapy, reduces the frequency of interruptions and replacements, decreases burdens on healthcare workers and patients, and lowers the cost of blood purification therapies.
Implementation Method 1
Large-molecular-weight undesired substances, which cannot be removed only by the diffusion phenomenon, are removed by filtration
Implementation Method 2
undesired substances are discharged from the blood of the patient to the side of the dialysis fluid using a diffusion phenomenon caused by a difference in concentration between substances
Implementation Method 3
Some of various blood purifiers used in these blood purification therapies separate substances using their adsorption performance besides substance separation performance such as the diffusion and the filtration described above
Data Source
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AI summary
Burdens on doctors and nurses are reduced in a blood purification therapy, and burdens on patients are also reduced while the cost reduction of the blood purification therapy is attained. A blood purification device 1 include a blood circuit 10 having two blood purifiers 20 and 21 parallelly connected thereto, switch means 11 capable of selectively supplying blood to the blood purifiers 20 and 21, and cleaning fluid supply means 12 capably of selectively supplying cleaning fluid to the blood purifiers 20 and 21. The cleaning fluid is supplied to the second blood purifier 21 while the blood is supplied to the first blood purifier 20, and the cleaning fluid is supplied to the first blood purifier 20 while the blood is supplied to the second blood purifier 21.