Blood purification apparatus and method of trapping bubbles therein

1. A blood purification apparatus that includes

a blood circuit including an arterial blood circuit and a venous blood circuit and having a flow route that allows a patient's blood to extracorporeally circulate from a distal end of the arterial blood circuit to a distal end of the venous blood circuit;

a blood purifier connected to a proximal end of the arterial blood circuit and to a proximal end of the venous blood circuit and that purifies the patient's blood flowing through the blood circuit;

an air-trap chamber connected to the blood circuit and that traps bubbles contained in liquid flowing in the flow route of the blood circuit; and

a blood pump provided to the arterial blood circuit and being capable of delivering the liquid within the blood circuit,

the blood purification apparatus comprising:

an upstream bubble-detecting unit attached to a position of the blood circuit on an upstream side with respect to the air-trap chamber and that detects bubbles contained in the liquid flowing in the blood circuit; and

a control unit that upon detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit reduces a flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber by driving the blood pump at a lower speed than the blood pump was driven before the bubbles were detected;

wherein a distance between the upstream bubble-detecting unit and the air-trap chamber is set based on the flow rate of the blood circuit and an inside diameter of a tube forming the blood circuit.

2. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a substitution pump capable of performing substitution or priming by introducing dialysate into the blood circuit, wherein the control unit reduces driving speeds of the blood pump and the substitution pump at the detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit.

3. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a narrowing unit provided at a position of the blood circuit between the air-trap chamber and the upstream bubble-detecting unit and that is capable of reducing the flow rate of the liquid by narrowing the flow route of the blood circuit, wherein the control unit reduces, at the detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit, the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber by activating the narrowing unit to narrow the flow route.

4. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit resets the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after reducing the flow rate of the liquid.

5. A method of trapping bubbles in a blood purification apparatus, the apparatus including

a blood circuit including an arterial blood circuit and a venous blood circuit and having a flow route that allows a patient's blood to extracorporeally circulate from a distal end of the arterial blood circuit to a distal end of the venous blood circuit;

a blood purifier connected to a proximal end of the arterial blood circuit and to a proximal end of the venous blood circuit and that purifies the patient's blood flowing through the blood circuit;

an air-trap chamber connected to the blood circuit and that traps bubbles contained in liquid flowing in the flow route of the blood circuit;

a blood pump provided to the arterial blood circuit and being capable of delivering the liquid within the blood circuit, and

an upstream bubble-detecting unit attached to a position of the blood circuit on an upstream side with respect to the air-trap chamber;

wherein the method comprises:

detecting bubbles contained in the liquid flowing in the blood circuit,

reducing a flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber at the detection of any bubbles by an upstream bubble-detecting unit,

lowering a driving speed of the blood pump when the bubbles are detected by the upstream bubble-detecting unit; and

setting a distance between the upstream bubble-detecting unit and the air-trap chamber is set based on the flow rate of the blood circuit and an inside diameter of a tube forming the blood circuit.

6. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the blood purification apparatus further includes a substitution pump capable of performing substitution or priming by introducing dialysate into the blood circuit, and

reducing driving speeds of the blood pump and the substitution pump at the detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit.

7. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the blood purification apparatus further includes a narrowing unit provided at a position of the blood circuit between the air-trap chamber and the upstream bubble-detecting unit and that is capable of reducing the flow rate of the liquid by narrowing the flow route of the blood circuit; and, at the detection of any bubbles by the upstream bubble-detecting unit, the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber is reduced by activating the narrowing unit to narrow the flow route.

8. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber is reset to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after the flow rate of the liquid is reduced.

9. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber is reset to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after the flow rate of the liquid is reduced.

10. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising:

resetting the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after the flow rate of the liquid is reduced.

11. The method of trapping bubbles in the blood purification apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising:

resetting the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after the flow rate of the liquid is reduced.

12. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit resets the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after reducing the flow rate of the liquid.

13. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit resets the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after reducing the flow rate of the liquid.

14. The blood purification apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit resets the flow rate of the liquid flowing into the air-trap chamber to a preset flow rate at an elapse of a predetermined time period after reducing the flow rate of the liquid.