Methods and apparatus for adjustment of blood drip chamber of dialysis machines using touchscreen interface

A method of adjusting the level of fluid in a chamber of an extracorporeal circuit of a dialysis machine, said dialysis machine having a touch screen user interface, comprising the steps of:

• (a) displaying on said touch screen an illustration of said chamber and prompting a user of said machine to indicate on said illustration a location corresponding to the current fluid level in said chamber;
• (b) touching the touch screen to indicate in said illustration a level corresponding to the current fluid level in said chamber;
• (c) determining, from the location touched in step (b), whether the current level of fluid in said chamber is above or below a predetermined desired level of fluid in said chamber, and responsively
• (d) raising or lowering said fluid level in said chamber so as to bring said fluid level closer to said predetermined desired level.

In a dialysis machine, apparatus for adjusting the level of fluid in a chamber in an extracorporeal circuit of said dialysis machine, comprising:

• a touch screen;
• said touch screen displaying a fluid level setting indication icon and a message prompting a user of said machine to touch said fluid level setting indication icon so as to indicate the current level of fluid in said chamber;
• a control system responsive to said touch screen, said control system comparing the current level of fluid indicated on said touch screen with a predetermined desired level of fluid in said chamber and determining whether the fluid level in said chamber should be raised or lowered in order to bring the fluid level closer to said predetermined desired level, and
• level adjusting apparatus for said chamber responsive to said control system raising or lowering the fluid level in said chamber to bring said fluid level closer to said predetermined desired level.

A method of adjusting the level of fluid in a chamber of an extracorporeal circuit of a dialysis machine, said dialysis machine having a user interface permitting a user of said dialysis machine to enter commands and information into a central computer system controlling operation of said dialysis machine, comprising the steps of:

• (a) prompting a user of said machine to enter via said user interface the current level of fluid in said chamber;
• (b) in response to said prompting, operating said user interface to enter information into said central computer system associated with the current level of fluid in said chamber;
• (c) comparing with said central computer system said current level indicated at step (b) with a predetermined desired level of fluid for said chamber stored in said central computer system, and
• (d) commanding with said central computer system a chamber level adjustment apparatus operatively connected to said chamber so as to adjust the current level of fluid in said chamber up or down so as to bring the level of fluid in said chamber closer to said predetermined desired level.