Membrane pump usage condition detection

A method for detecting a usage condition of a membrane pump, the method comprising:

• receiving a value of an electrical characteristic between two points on a flow path defined by a cartridge including a rigid body and a deformable membrane, the rigid body and the deformable membrane collectively defining at least a portion of a membrane pump and a valve in fluid communication with one another along the flow path;
• monitoring the value of the electrical characteristic for an indication of deterioration of the membrane pump;
• based on whether the value of the electrical characteristic has an indication of deterioration of the membrane pump, determining a usage condition of the membrane pump;
• and
• generating an output signal corresponding to the usage condition of the membrane pump.

A computer program product encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a value of an electrical characteristic between two points on a flow path defined by a cartridge including a rigid body and a flexible membrane collectively defining at least a portion of a fluid flow path of a cartridge for a dialysis machine;
• monitoring the value of the electrical characteristic for an indication of deterioration of a membrane pump along the fluid flow path of the cartridge;
• based on the value of the electrical characteristic, determining a usage condition of the membrane pump;
• and
• generating an output signal corresponding to the usage condition of the membrane pump.

A cartridge for a dialysis machine, the cartridge comprising:

• a rigid body;
• a flexible membrane covering the rigid body, the rigid body and the flexible membrane collectively defining at least one fluid flow path;
• and
• a plurality of sensing electrodes, each sensing electrode including a pointed tip and a sensing tip, each sensing electrode mounted in the rigid body with the respective sensing tip of the given sensing electrode disposed in the at least one fluid flow path and the respective pointed tip of the given sensing electrode facing the flexible membrane.