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Osmotically Assisted Dialysis Systems

[Category : - HEALTH]
[Viewed 146 times]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to hemodialysis. More specifically, the
present invention is a home hemodialysis system which utilizes the principle of forward
osmosis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to the field of hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is used to filter
blood using a dialyzer. The machine filters your blood through a dialyzer, also known as
an artificial kidney, with built-in safety checks to be sure the process is safe and effective.
Home and in-center hemodialysis machines are very similar in function, though the home
machine is much smaller. FIG. 1 shows the working of an extracorporeal blood circuit of
a dialysis system.
Here’s a basic overview of a hemodialysis machine’s parts and functions:
Two tubes are connected via your hemodialysis access which can be fistula, graft
or a catheter. Blood flows from your body into the machine through one of the tubes.
If your doctor prescribes blood thinner as part of your treatment, it will be added
to keep your blood from clotting while it’s in the machine.
A pressure monitor and pump work together to keep the flow at the right rate.
Your blood enters the dialyzer, where it is filtered.
Dialysate solution enters the dialyzer. It draws the waste out of your blood.
Used dialysate solution is pumped out of the machine and discarded.
Your blood goes through another pressure monitor and an air trap to make sure
it’s safe to go back into your body.
Your cleaned blood returns to your body through the second tube attached to your
access site.
1
Dialysate: Dialysate is a fluid that is made up of water, electrolytes and salts.
During dialysis, dialysate helps to clean your blood inside the dialyzer by removing waste
products and balancing electrolytes. Your nephrologist will prescribe the dialysate that is
right for your body’s needs.
Present-day machines employ single-pass systems that discard the spent dialysate
once it circulates through the dialyzer. The delivery of safe dialysate involves careful
regulation of its temperature, concentration, flow, pressure, as well as its proper
disinfection and/or cleaning. The key components/processes of this circuit include: 1.
Heating; 2. Deaeration; 3. Proportioning; 4. Monitoring; 5. Ultra Filtration; and 6.
Disinfection; The mixing (proportioning) of the dialysate and bicarbonate with pure
water may be done by individual machines or centrally. In the latter instance, the
premixed dialysate is then delivered to individual dialysis machines. FIG. 2 shows the
working of a dialysate circuit in which dialysate is mixed, heated and filtered.
In dialysis clinics, water is filtered using prefiltration and then reverse osmosis.
FIG. 3 represents such a water treatment system used in dialysis clinics. Prefiltration
typically consists of a cartridge filter used to remove suspended solids and then a carbon
block used to remove chlorine. The filtered water is then supplied to a semi-permeable
membrane using a high-pressure pump. The semi-permeable membrane removes
dissolved solids. The permeate water from the membrane is then stored in a tank. The
water is also passed through an endotoxin filter before advancing to the process of
dialysate prep.
Other home hemodialysis systems like Tablo® (Outset Medical) and NxStage®
PureFlow SL™ have water treatment systems integrated into the dialysis systems. Upon
review of their patents, it has been determined that both systems use bulky, expensive
pumps to push water through dense microporous and reverse osmosis membranes and use
expensive metering pumps to mix acid and bicarb concentrates with treated water to
make dialysate. Hence, the process to obtain AAMI quality water and mix acid + bicarb
to form new dialysate is an expensive, cumbersome and energy intensive process.
2
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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In this invention we describe a hemodialysis system which utilizes the principle of
forward osmosis to make on-demand dialysate from acid and bicarb concentrates. The
purpose of the invention is to improve on-demand dialysate preparation – reduce cost,
reduce energy required to perform the process, reduce number of parts in dialysis system
and hence improve reliability, manufacturability and serviceability of the system. Other
benefits include reduction in size and better water efficiency.
In FIG. 4, we show how the principle of forward osmosis - water molecules move
from tap water to the side which contains bicarb/acid concentrates because the
concentrates exert osmotic pressure on the water molecules. These steps are described in
detail in the next section.
The extracorporeal blood circuit is similar to the ones present in conventional
dialysis systems. One embodiment of such a blood circuit is shown in FIG. 5.

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