Dialysate bag seal breakage sensor incorporated in dialysate bag management
View Patent ↗A stand for a medical fluid treatment, a system for supporting medical fluid bags, and a method for testing and sensing whether a bag or a seal in a chamber of a multi-chamber bag has been broken prior to providing therapy. A stand stores one or more medical fluid bags, each bag stored on a single shelf. Each shelf has a sensor for sensing the presence or absence of fluid in the bag, and reporting the status of the bag to a central location, such as a computer. The sensor can also detect and report on whether fluid has leaked from the bag, or in the case of bags with two or more chambers, if a leak in a frangible seal separating the chambers has developed.
1. A medical fluid supply bag stand for mounting a medical fluid supply bag for use during a therapy, the medical fluid supply bag including an upper fluid carrying portion and a lower fluid carrying portion, the bag stand including:
a support pole;
at least one shelf movably connected to the support pole, the shelf configured for mounting only the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag, the shelf further configured to support the medical fluid supply bag while in use during the therapy; and
a sensor mounted on the shelf for sensing liquid in the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag, the sensor operable during the therapy for determining whether liquid is present in the upper fluid carrying portion.
2. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a capacitive sensor.
3. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or an optical sensor.
4. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the at least one shelf is hingedly mounted to the shelf for swinging out of the way when loading the stand.
5. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein the sensor detects liquid in the upper fluid carrying portion before fluid in the two fluid carrying portions is mixed and wherein the sensor detects less liquid in the upper fluid carrying portion after liquid in the two fluid carrying portions is mixed.
6. The medical fluid supply bag of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shelf is mounted at an acute angle to the support pole.
7. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein the supply bag is a renal replacement therapy fluid and is configured for connection to a dialysis apparatus selected from the group consisting of: a continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis apparatus, an automated peritoneal dialysis apparatus, a hemodialysis apparatus, a hemofiltration apparatus, and a hemodiaflitration apparatus.
8. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shelf comprises a plurality of shelves, and wherein each shelf further comprises a hinge, and the shelf and the hinge are configured for at least a portion of the shelf to swing out of the way for loading a portion of a medical fluid supply bag on each shelf.
9. A method of sensing medical fluid during a medical therapy, the method comprising:
providing a medical fluid supply bag stand, wherein at least one shelf is movably connected to the stand, the at least one shelf configured for mounting only a portion of a medical fluid supply bag for use during the medical therapy, the medical fluid supply bag including an upper fluid carrying portion and a lower fluid carrying portion;
mounting only the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag on the at least one shelf;
during the medical therapy, sensing a presence of the medical fluid supply bag with a sensor mounted on the at least one shelf; and
during the medical therapy, sensing an absence of liquid in the medical fluid supply bag if a seal separating the upper fluid carrying portion and the lower fluid carrying portion leaks or has been broken.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising sending a signal when a presence of the medical fluid supply bag is sensed.
11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising sending a signal if the seal is broken or leaks.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the sensor is a capacitive or ultrasonic sensor, the sensor detecting a first, higher level of liquid in the bag if the seal is intact and a second, lower level of liquid in the bag if the seal has been broken or leaks.
13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising connecting the supply bag to a dialysis apparatus selected from the group consisting of: a continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis apparatus, an automated peritoneal dialysis apparatus, a hemodialysis apparatus, a hemofiltration apparatus, and a hemodiaflitration apparatus.
14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising loading the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag on the at least one shelf, so that the sensor detects a presence of only the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag.
15. A medical fluid supply bag stand for mounting a medical fluid supply bag for use during a therapy, the medical fluid supply bag including an upper fluid carrying portion and a lower fluid carrying portion, the bag stand including:
a base;
a support pole mounted on the base;
a plurality of shelves in a vertical row, each shelf movably connected to the support pole, each shelf configured for mounting only the upper fluid carrying portion of a medical fluid supply bag, each shelf further configured to support one of the medical fluid supply bags while in use during the therapy; and
a sensor mounted on each shelf for sensing liquid in the upper fluid carrying portion of the medical fluid supply bag, the sensor operable during the therapy for determining whether liquid is present in the upper fluid carrying portion.
16. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 15 , wherein the sensor is a capacitive sensor.
17. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 15 , wherein the sensor detects a thickness of at least about 7 to 10 mm of the medical fluid supply bag and fluid atop the shelf.
18. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 15 , wherein the support pole comprises a plurality of orifices for mounting supports for the plurality of shelves.
19. The medical fluid supply bag stand of claim 15 , wherein each shelf comprises an interface for mounting to the support pole, a mount for a bag support, and a hinge for movably mounting the bag support, and a hook for grasping the medical fluid supply bag.
20. A medical fluid supply bag stand, comprising:
a support pole;
at least one shelf movably connected to the support pole, the shelf configured for mounting only an upper portion of the medical fluid supply bag; and
a sensor mounted on the shelf for sensing liquid in the upper portion of the supply bag, the sensor suitable for determining whether liquid is present in the upper portion, wherein the at least one shelf is configured for storing a medical fluid supply bag having at least two chambers, and wherein the sensor detects liquid in an upper chamber before fluid in the two chambers is mixed and wherein the sensor detects less liquid in the upper chamber after liquid in the two chambers is mixed.