Method and device for monitoring vessel access during extracorporeal blood treatment
AssigneeFresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
InventorHelmuth Ender
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and device for monitoring vascular access is described. A field coil is placed at a location on an extracorporeal circulation loop connected to the vascular system of a patient, and an induction coil is placed at another different location. A voltage is supplied to the field coil, inducing an electric current in the blood. The current induces a voltage in the induction coil. Monitoring the voltage in the induction coil reveals if vascular access is defective.
Claims11
A method of monitoring a vascular access during an extracorporeal blood treatment, comprising the steps of:
- flowing blood taken from a patient's vascular system through an arterial blood line of an extracorporeal blood circulation loop into a blood treatment machine;
- flowing blood out of the blood treatment machine back into the patient's vascular system through a venous blood line of the extracorporeal blood circulation loop thus forming a conductor loop that includes the patient's vascular system;
- inducing an electric current flow in a connection of the extracorporeal blood circulation loop with the patient's vascular system;
- measuring a current flowing in the conductor loop;
- and
- determining the vascular access is defective when a characteristic change in the electric current is detected.
A device for extracorporeal blood treatment with an extracorporeal circulation loop, having a blood treatment machine, an arterial blood line connectable at one end to a patient's vascular system and at another end to an inlet of the blood treatment machine, and a venous blood line connectable at one end to an outlet of the blood treatment machine and at the other end to the vascular system of the patient, and a device for monitoring vascular access, the device for monitoring vascular access comprising:
- means for inducing an electric current flow in a connection of the extracorporeal circulation loop with the patient's vascular system, said means being disposed at a first location;
- means for measuring the induced electric current, disposed at a second location in the extracorporeal circulation loop, said second location being different from the first location;
- and
- an analyzer unit to determine if the vascular access is defective by monitoring a characteristic change in the induced electric current,
- wherein the blood treatment machine, the arterial blood line, the venous blood line and the patient's vascular system form a closed conductor loop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.