Blood treatment air purging systems
Dialysis systems that remove air from a blood circuit are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a dialysis system includes a dialysis fluid circuit, a blood circuit including an arterial line, a venous line, and an enclosure in fluid communication with the venous line, the enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent for priming the blood circuit, a blood pump configured to pump fluid through at least the arterial line, a first valve operable with the arterial line and a second valve operable with the venous line, and a pumping and valving algorithm operated after priming to remove air from the blood circuit to control the first and second valves and the blood pump to replace priming fluid with blood from a patient.
1. A dialysis system comprising:
a dialysis fluid circuit;
a blood circuit including
an arterial line,
a venous line, and
an enclosure in fluid communication with the venous line, the enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent for priming the blood circuit;
a blood pump configured to pump fluid through at least the arterial line;
a first valve operable with the arterial line and a second valve operable with the venous line; and
a pumping and valving algorithm operated (i) to prime the blood circuit to remove air from the blood circuit through the hydrophobic vent, and (ii) to control the first and second valves and the blood pump to replace priming fluid with blood from a patient after priming the blood circuit.
2. The dialysis system of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure includes an air trap.
3. The dialysis system of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic vent communicates with the enclosure via a vent line.
4. The dialysis system of claim 1 , wherein the priming fluid includes saline, heparin or dialysis fluid.
5. The dialysis system of claim 1 , wherein the pumping and valving algorithm controls the first and second valves and the blood pump so that the blood from the patient replaces the priming fluid while both the arterial line and the venous line are connected to the patient.
6. The dialysis system of claim 1 , which includes a dialyzer, the dialysis fluid circuit in fluid communication with a dialysis fluid compartment of the dialyzer, the blood circuit in fluid communication with a blood compartment of the dialyzer, and wherein the enclosure is located on the blood circuit side of the dialyzer.
7. The dialysis system of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is located along the venous line.
8. A dialysis system comprising:
a dialyzer including a dialysis fluid compartment and a blood compartment;
a dialysis fluid circuit in fluid communication with the dialysis fluid compartment of the dialyzer;
a blood circuit in fluid communication with the blood compartment of the dialyzer, the blood circuit including an arterial line and a venous line;
a priming fluid container connected to the blood circuit;
a blood pump configured to pump priming fluid from the priming fluid container through at least the arterial line;
an enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent when the blood pump pumps the priming fluid from the priming fluid container through at least the arterial line; and
an algorithm operated to use the blood pump to (i) prime the blood circuit using the priming fluid from the priming fluid container to remove air from the blood circuit through the hydrophobic vent, and (ii) replace the priming fluid with blood from a patient after priming the blood circuit.
9. The dialysis system of claim 8 , wherein the enclosure includes an air trap.
10. The dialysis system of claim 8 , wherein the hydrophobic vent communicates with the enclosure via a vent line.
11. The dialysis system of claim 8 , wherein the priming fluid container is a saline container, and wherein the priming fluid is saline.
12. The dialysis system of claim 8 , wherein the enclosure is located along the venous line.
13. The dialysis system of claim 8 , wherein the priming fluid container is directly connected to the arterial line.
14. A dialysis system comprising:
a dialyzer including a dialysis fluid compartment and a blood compartment;
a blood circuit in fluid communication with the blood compartment of the dialyzer, the blood circuit including an arterial line and a venous line;
a blood pump configured and arranged to pump fluid through the blood circuit;
an enclosure connected along a flow path in fluid communication with the dialysis fluid compartment of the dialyzer, the enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent while the blood pump pumps fluid through at least the arterial line; and
an algorithm operated to use the blood pump to (i) prime the blood circuit using the fluid to remove air from the blood circuit through the hydrophobic vent, and (ii) replace the fluid with blood from a patient after priming the blood circuit.
15. The dialysis system of claim 14 , wherein the enclosure includes an air trap.
16. The dialysis system of claim 14 , wherein the hydrophobic vent communicates with the enclosure via a vent line.
17. The dialysis system of claim 14 , wherein the flow path in fluid communication with the dialysis fluid compartment of the dialyzer is part of a dialysis fluid circuit.
18. The dialysis system of claim 14 , which includes a priming fluid container connected to the blood circuit, the enclosure configured to release air through a hydrophobic vent while the blood pump pumps priming fluid from the priming fluid container through the blood circuit.
19. The dialysis system of claim 14 , which includes a first valve operable with the arterial line and a second valve operable with the venous line, wherein the algorithm is a pumping and valving algorithm operated to further control the valves and the blood pump to replace the priming fluid with blood from a patient after priming the blood circuit.
20. The dialysis system of claim 19 , wherein the pumping and valving algorithm controls the first and second valves and the blood pump so that the blood from the patient replaces the priming fluid while both the arterial line and the venous line are connected to the patient.