Hemodialysis apparatus, method of operating hemodialysis apparatus, and water content removal system

A hemodialysis apparatus, comprising:

• a dialyzer;
• a vessel including a displaceable partition wall which partitions the inside of the vessel into a first chamber and a second chamber;
• a storage vessel which stores a dialysate;
• a dialysate exchange circuit which supplies the dialysate to the first chamber and discharges a waste dialysate in the second chamber to the outside by the consequent displacement of the partition wall to the second chamber side;
• a dialysate supply circuit which supplies the dialysate in the first chamber to the dialyzer and discharges the waste dialysate from the dialyzer to the second chamber by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side;
• a dialysate storage circuit which supplies the dialysate in the first chamber to the storage vessel by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side,
• wherein the storage vessel includes a displaceable partition wall which partitions the inside of the storage vessel into two storage chambers, and
• the dialysate storage circuit is configured to be capable of selectively supplying the dialysate in the first chamber to the respective storage chambers of the storage vessel, and of selectively discharging the dialysate in each of the storage chambers.

A method of operating a hemodialysis apparatus,

• the hemodialysis apparatus including:
• a dialyzer;
• a vessel including a displaceable partition wall which partitions the inside of the vessel into a first chamber and a second chamber;
• a storage vessel which stores a dialysate;
• a dialysate exchange circuit which supplies the dialysate to the first chamber and discharges a waste dialysate in the second chamber to the outside by the consequent displacement of the partition wall to the second chamber side;
• a dialysate supply circuit which supplies the dialysate in the first chamber to the dialyzer and discharges the waste dialysate from the dialyzer to the second chamber by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side;
• and
• a dialysate storage circuit which supplies the dialysate in the first chamber to the storage vessel by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side,
• the method comprising:
• causing a control unit to implement a first control of supplying the dialysate to the first chamber of the vessel through the dialysate exchange circuit, displacing the partition wall of the vessel to the second chamber side, and discharging the waste dialysate in the second chamber of the vessel through the dialysate exchange circuit,
• a second control of displacing the partition wall of the vessel to the first chamber side in a state where blood is being supplied to the dialyzer so as to supply the dialysate in the first chamber to the storage vessel through the dialysate storage circuit, and discharging the water content of the blood from the dialyzer to the second chamber through the dialysate supply circuit by utilizing a negative pressure of the second chamber that has been generated by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side, and
• a third control of supplying the dialysate in the first chamber to the dialyzer through the dialysate supply circuit and discharging the waste dialysate from the dialyzer to the second chamber through the dialysate supply circuit by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side;
• and
• causing the control unit to alternately implement at least either the second control or the third control, and the first control.

A water content removal system for removing water content from blood, comprising:

• a separator through which blood passes and which separates the water content from the blood;
• a vessel including a displaceable partition wall which partitions the inside of the vessel into a first chamber and a second chamber;
• a storage vessel which stores a predetermined fluid;
• a first circuit which supplies the fluid to the first chamber of the vessel;
• a second circuit which discharges the water content in the second chamber of the vessel;
• a third circuit which supplies the fluid in the first chamber of the vessel to the storage vessel;
• and
• a fourth circuit which discharges the water content from the separator to the second chamber,
• wherein the vessel is configured to be capable of displacing the partition wall to the first chamber side to push out the fluid from the first chamber and store the fluid in the storage vessel through the third circuit, and of discharging the water content from the separator to the second chamber through the fourth circuit by utilizing a negative pressure of the second chamber that has been generated by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side,
• a control unit which implements a first control of supplying the fluid to the first chamber of the vessel through the first circuit, displacing the partition wall of the vessel to the second chamber side, and discharging the water content in the second chamber of the vessel through the second circuit,
• a second control of displacing the partition wall of the vessel to the first chamber side in a state where blood is being supplied to the separator so as to supply the fluid in the first chamber to the storage vessel through the third circuit, and discharging the water content from the separator to the second chamber through the fourth circuit by utilizing the negative pressure of the second chamber that has been generated by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side, and
• a third control of supplying the fluid in the first chamber to the separator through the third circuit and discharging the water content from the separator to the second chamber by the displacement of the partition wall to the first chamber side,
• wherein the control unit alternately implements at least either the second control or the third control, and the first control.