US 5,849,179 A · Automatic apparatus for obtaining equilibration samples of dialysate

Abstract

An improved on-line, real time hemodialysis monitoring system for hemodialysis treatment, quantitates the rate and amount of a constituent, such as urea, removed during the hemodialysis treating by measuring the constituent concentrations as a function of time in the spent dialysate effluent from a hemodialysis machine. A quantity of the spent dialysate effluent is removed from the dialysate effluent waste line periodically for testing. A urea concentration time profile can be analyzed to determine the urea removal, KT/V, URR, SRI, and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) indices. The hemodialysis monitoring system preferably can obtain a dialysate sample equilibrated with the blood prior to the start of a hemodialysis treatment. In a further aspect of the hemodialysis monitoring system includes a device for conducting two-pool analysis for taking into account the constituent concentration differences in the extracellular and intracellular spaces in the hemodialysis patient during the hemodialysis treatment to determine the intercompartmental transfer coefficient K.sub.I of a patient, which allows more precise adjustment of the hemodialysis prescription for the patient.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An apparatus for conducting equilibration of dialysate with a patient's blood for a patient undergoing hemodialysis, comprising

connecting means for connecting to a dialysis machine for receiving a flow of dialysate therefrom and for connecting said flow to a dialyzer cartridge and directing a flow of dialysate from said dialysis machine through said dialyzer cartridge and back to said dialysis machine;
valve means actuatable between one position for stopping dialysate flow from said dialysis machine to said dialyzer cartridge and for directing said dialysate flow back to said dialysis machine, and for retaining a predetermined volume of dialysate in said dialyzer cartridge, and another position for allowing ultrafiltration to take place from the blood of the patient flowing through said dialyzer cartridge, with said returned pre-determined volume of dialysate remaining in said dialyzer cartridge ;
means for measuring the metabolite concentration in at least two samples of said retained pre-determined volume of dialysate and for continuing to sample said retained predetermined volume of dialysate until the difference in concentrations between two successive samples is less than a specified amount.

An apparatus for conducting equilibration of dialysate with a patient's blood for a patient undergoing hemodialysis, comprising:

first dialysis connecting means for connecting to a dialysis machine for receiving a flow of dialysate therefrom;
first dialyzer connecting means for connecting said first dialysis connecting means to one end of a dialyzer cartridge and for directing said flow of dialysate from said dialysis machine to said dialyzer cartridge;
second dialyzer connecting means for connecting to another end of said dialyzer cartridge for directing said flow of dialysate from said dialyzer cartridge;
second dialysis connecting means for connecting said second dialyzer connecting means to said dialysis machine for directing said flow of dialysate from said dialyzer cartridge through said second dialyzer connecting means into said dialysis machine;
bypass means selectively actuatable between two positions, a first position in which the flow of dialysate is directed from said dialysis machine, through said first dialysis connecting means, through said first dialyzer connecting means, through said dialyzer cartridge, through said second dialyzer connecting means, and through said second dialysis connecting means for being returned to said dialysis machine, and a second position in which the flow of dialysate is shunted after passing through said first dialysis connecting means. before passing to said first dialyzer connecting means, for directing dialysate flow away from said dialyzer cartridge to said second dialysis connecting means for being returned directly to said dialysis machine without passing through said dialyzer cartridge;
and
means for selectively sampling dialysate from said dialyzer cartridge when said bypass means is in said second position for measuring the concentration of metabolite in a selected sample of dialysate from the dialyzer cartridge.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automatic apparatus for obtaining equilibration samples of dialysate

Life of this patent

Automatic apparatus for obtaining equilibration samples of dialysate

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11