Patent Grant
11590454
The disclosure generally relates to a controlled system and method for detecting a leak in a heat exchanger in a hemodialysis device, and more particularly to a controlled system and method for detecting a leak in a heat exchanger to prevent backflow contamination.
Medical devices involving fluid flow typically involve a fluid flow path for a disinfectant operation such as a chemical disinfection. A hemodialysis device can function in place of a kidney by filtering waste, salt, and fluid from a patient's blood when the patient's kidneys do not function properly. To ensure the flow paths are properly cleaned for patient use, a chemical wash flows a disinfecting agent or other cleaning chemicals through the flow path. It is extremely critical that hemodialysis devices do not permit a chemical wash to contaminate a flow path containing fluid that may interact with a patient.
During a dialysis operation, a valve in a spent dialysate circuit is always closed, thereby preventing any potential contamination from a chemical wash. Additionally, an airgap between a water inlet valve and a hydrochamber prevents any patient contamination if there is an external loss of water pressure. During a chemical wash operation, the valve is opened so that a chemical wash or other disinfectant flows from the spent dialysate side to the hydrochamber. A drain valve opens at a periodic time interval to disinfect the drain line, and fresh water flows through the water inlet valve to replace the volume emptied out the drain valve. Under normal circumstances, the fresh water circuit is under positive pressure, so water flows into the water inlet valve, and disinfectant is prevented from flowing back through the water inlet valve.
If an external water source fails, the water is no longer under positive pressure, and the chemical wash or disinfectant has a path for potential backflow. A heat exchanger may corrode over time, resulting in an opening in a wall or membrane. In the event of an external water source pressure failure, spent dialysate, which may include a disinfecting agent if a disinfectant operation is in process, may be drawn into the water circuit from the spent dialysate circuit, potentially contaminating the external water source and fluid that may interact with a patient. Although risk to the patient is remote, a solution is needed to detect leaks in a heat exchanger and prevent all potential backflow contamination to ensure patient safety.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements may be useful.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to necessarily identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In an embodiment, a method for detecting a leak in a heat exchanger of a hemodialysis device by a controller including a memory may comprise opening a drain valve by the controller, the drain valve being disposed in a spent dialysate circuit, and closing the drain valve by the controller after a pre-selected time period. The method may further include determining an initial pressure in the spent dialysate circuit by the controller, and storing the initial pressure in the memory, and sensing a system pressure at periodic time intervals and comparing to a pre-determined maximum pressure. The method may further include determining, by the controller, whether the heat exchanger has a leak, wherein: in response to the system pressure exceeding a predetermined maximum pressure, generating a command to execute an event including one or more of generating an alarm, suspending a disinfectant operation with a disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve, and in response to the initial pressure subtracted from the system pressure being greater than a predetermined minimum pressure differential, generating a command to execute an event including one or more of generating an alarm, suspending the disinfectant operation with the disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve.
In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an executable program by a controller for detecting a leak in a heat exchanger of a hemodialysis device may comprise opening a drain valve by the controller, the drain valve being disposed in a spent dialysate circuit and closing the drain valve by the controller after a pre-selected time period, determining an initial pressure in the spent dialysate circuit by the controller, and storing the initial pressure in the memory, sensing a system pressure at periodic time intervals and comparing to a pre-determined maximum pressure, and determining, by the controller, whether the heat exchanger has a leak, wherein: in response to the system pressure exceeding a predetermined maximum pressure, generating a command to execute an event including one or more of generating an alarm, suspending a disinfectant operation with a disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve; and in response to the initial pressure subtracted from the system pressure being greater than a predetermined minimum pressure differential, generating a command to execute an event including one or more of generating an alarm, suspending the disinfectant operation with the disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve.
By way of example, specific embodiments of the disclosed device will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which several exemplary embodiments are shown. The subject matter of the present disclosure, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring to
The hemodialysis device 401 may include a hydrochamber 110 and a heat exchanger 115 in fluid communication with the hydrochamber 110. Referring back to
The hydrochamber 110 may include a plurality of chambers 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D, and 110E. In an embodiment, water may enter a first chamber, e.g., chamber 110A and be heated in chamber 110B. Control of the water flow may occur in chamber 110C, for example, by including sensors and/or switches to monitor fluid in the hydrochamber. The fluid may be de-gassed or de-aerated in another chamber, e.g., 110D and/or 110E, so that balancing errors in the fluid are reduced. The fluid circuit is connected between the water inlet valve 130, a recirculation valve 135, and the hydrochamber 110.
Referring now to
As described above, during a dialysis operation or dialysis mode, backflow of fluid may be prevented by the air gap between the water inlet valve 130 and the hydrochamber 110. Additionally, a recirculation valve 135 remains closed, so that the spent dialysate circuit 125 remains closed off from the water circuit 120. Potential patient contamination is thereby prevented should an external loss of water pressure occur. In an embodiment, water may flow from an external water source (not shown) through the heat exchanger 115, through the water inlet valve 130, and into the hydrochamber 110 past the air gap 145. When the recirculation valve 135 is closed, the water circuit 120 may be isolated from the spent dialysate circuit 125. To detect a loss of water pressure, as described above, one or more sensors 150 may be disposed in a chamber 110A-110E. In an embodiment, the sensor 150 may be a float to detect a fluid level in the hydrochamber 110. In response to a change in the fluid level in the hydrochamber 110, a controller of the hemodialysis device may output a warning, alarm, and/or automatic shut-down.
During a disinfectant operation, the recirculation valve 135 is opened to flow a disinfecting agent from the spent dialysate circuit 125 to the hydrochamber 110 through the fluid flow path 165. In an embodiment, the disinfectant operation may be a disinfection wash and/or rinse. In an embodiment, the disinfecting agent may be a disinfectant. Periodic disinfection of the fluid circuits cleans the tubing in the system of microorganisms.
A drain valve 140 may be opened at periodic time intervals to drain fluid out of the spent dialysate circuit, so that the disinfecting agent disinfects the drain valve 140. To replace the drained fluid volume, the water inlet valve 130 opens to flow water in through the water circuit 120. The water circuit 120 is kept at a positive pressure over the spent dialysate circuit 125, so that water will always flow from a higher pressure area to the lower pressure hydrochamber when the water inlet valve 130 is opened. For example, the water pressure may be 20 psi. However, if an external water source fails, the fluid pressure may drop in the water circuit 120.
In the event of a loss of pressure at an external water source when the recirculation valve 135 is open during a disinfectant operation, the disinfecting agent is prevented from flowing through the water inlet valve 130 due to the air gap 145 and the independent fluid flow paths 160, 165. Thus, contamination is prevented and patient safety is ensured.
However, leaks may still occur at the heat exchanger 115, when fluid flows in the spent dialysate circuit 125 on a first side of the heat exchanger 115, and fluid flows in the water circuit 120 on a second side of the heat exchanger 115. The heat exchanger transfers heat between the fluid flow in the water circuit 120 and the fluid flow in the spent dialysate circuit 125. However, as described above, corrosive elements may also flow through the circuits 120, 125. Over time, a wall or membrane of the heat exchanger may corrode, resulting in a crack, tear, and/or opening. The opening may allow fluid to leak between circuits 120, 125.
As described above, it is critical to eliminate potential contamination of a flow path containing fluid that may interact with a patient. In the event of an opening developing in a wall, or membrane, of the heat exchanger, there is potential for leakage of fluid from a high pressure fluid flow path to a low pressure fluid flow path. As shown in
Over time, corrosive fluid may result in a crack, split, and/or hole forming an opening 525 in the membrane 520 of the heat exchanger 115 between the first side 510 and the second side 515. Fluid will thus flow from a higher pressure side (e.g., the first side 510 having the water circuit 120) of the heat exchanger 115 to a lower pressure side (e.g., the second side 515 having the spent dialysate circuit 125) of the heat exchanger 115, indicated by arrow 535. Under normal operating conditions, the water circuit 120 is at a positive pressure, so water may leak from the water circuit 120 to the spent dialysate circuit 125. The membrane 520 may be flexible or bendable, so that as fluid flows from a higher pressure area into a lower pressure area, edges 530 around the opening 525 may bend away from the area of high pressure, towards the spent dialysate circuit 125. Additionally, the higher pressure of the fluid flow may widen the opening 525 by pushing the edges 530 further away from the area of high pressure to increase the width w of the opening 525, resulting in an increase in the leak rate. As the spent dialysate fluid circuit 125 is drained from the hemodialysis device, a leak under these conditions poses no safety concern to the patient. However, this leak unnecessarily wastes water in the water circuit 120 and is preferably avoided.
In the event of a loss of pressure at an external water source (not shown), including if the loss occurs during a disinfectant operation, the fresh water circuit 120 is now at a negative pressure to the spent dialysate circuit 125. For example, with reference to
A leak may be detected by a hemodialysis device by executing a program from a controller stored in a memory. At step 605, the controller may generate a signal to start a disinfectant operation, such as a chemical rinse. The controller may also start a timer for monitoring the length of time allowed to detect a leak. For example, a specified period of time of 4 minutes may be set to ensure an existing leak will be detected. The period of time may be a function of the amount of fluid volume and/or length of tubing in the hemodialysis device, in that for a larger device, a longer time period may be necessary to ensure the tubing is properly cleaned. Similarly, in a smaller device having less tubing and/or length of tubing, a shorter time period may be needed to ensure the tubing is properly cleaned. Any period of time may be envisioned that is sufficient to allow for the program to be executed to detect for leaks within a given hemodialysis device setup.
At step 610, the rinse step of the disinfectant operation is run for a period of time. As described above, the controller may generate a signal to run the disinfectant operation, including the rinse step, for a time as a function of the device size requirements. For example, the rinse step of the disinfectant operation may be operated for 45 seconds.
At step 615, the controller generates a signal to start a leak detection test. At step 620, the controller generates a signal to open the drain valve 140 and valve 175. Valve 175 (designated as V43 in step 620 of
At step 625, pressure readings at the spent dialysate side of the heat exchanger may be determined at periodic time intervals, for example, every 30 seconds. The controller may detect a pressure level, and the pressure level may be stored in a memory of the controller. At least the first two pressure readings may be discarded, to avoid potential error readings. At step 630, an initial pressure reading is compared to a pre-determined maximum pressure. In embodiments, the pre-determined maximum pressure may be 200 mm Hg. If the pressure reading is below the pre-determined maximum pressure, the pressure reading is stored in the memory as the initial pressure (Press0) at step 635. If the pressure reading exceeds the pre-determined determined maximum pressure, the pressure reading is stored in the memory of the controller as a failure at step 640.
At step 645, the failure is counted, so that if a second failure is recognized, that is, if a second system pressure reading exceeds the pre-determined maximum pressure, the leak detection test completes at 650, with the controller executing one or more of generating an alarm, suspending a disinfectant operation with a disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve. When the system pressure exceeds the predetermined maximum pressure, it is indicative of a massive leak being detected. If at step 645 the pressure failure stored is not a second failure, e.g., it is a first failure of exceeding the pre-determined maximum pressure, the system pressure readings at step 625 continue at the periodic time intervals. In embodiments, the leak detection program detects an increase of pressure. In response to the heat exchanger leaking, pressure from the fresh water circuit will cross the heat exchanger, thereby increasing pressure on the spent circuit side. As an alternative and/or in addition to a massive leak being detected at step 630, the program may be executed in steps to detect to smaller leaks.
Referring back to step 635, the initial pressure (Press0) is stored in the memory of the controller. At step 655, a timer for the leak test may be set. At step 660, the initial pressure is subtracted from the system pressure reading, Press−Press0. In response to the initial pressure subtracted from the system pressure being greater than a predetermined minimum pressure differential (e.g., a differential ≥25), a failure occurs. When the initial pressure subtracted from the system pressure is greater than a predetermined minimum pressure differential, it is indicative of a small leak being detected. Step 665 resets the timer and the failure is stored back at step 640. Similar to steps 645 and 650, if the failure is a second failure, the controller may generate a command to execute an event including one or more of generating an alarm, suspending the disinfectant operation with the disinfecting agent, suspending system operation, and opening the drain valve. If the initial pressure subtracted from the system pressure is less than the predetermined minimum pressure, at step 670, the detection time is compared to a pre-determined timer. If the timer is not exceeded, the process reverts to step 625. If the timer is exceeded, the disinfectant operation is continued at step 675 and the leak detection test is complete.
In an embodiment, a leak detection program may for example detect a leak rate as small in volume as 0.1 mL/min. In determining the desired acceptable leak rate, ANSI/AAMI RD62:2006 standards indicate a maximum allowable concentration of free chlorine of 0.5 mg/L parts per million (ppm). Generally, household bleach is about 6%, or 60,000 ppm. The hemodialysis device according to an embodiment of the present invention proportions one part bleach to 34 parts water, or 60,000 ppm divided by 35, equaling 1,714 ppm.
Thus, in order for the device to restrict to a maximum allowable concentration of 0.5 ppm, a reduction factor of 3,428 (e.g., 1714 ppm divided by 0.5 ppm) is needed. 0.1 mL/min*40 sec*1 min/60 sec=0.067 mL leakage. X mL/0.067 mL=3428→X=230 mL. For example, as long as at least 230 mL of water in the water circuit side is maintained, the chlorine concentration will not rise above the ANSI/AAMI RD62:2006 standard of 0.5 ppm. In an embodiment of the hemodialysis device according to the present invention, a hydrochamber may hold more than three times the minimum water volume of 230 mL, e.g., approximately 740 mL, and may adequately detect leaks in the heat exchanger without putting a patient at risk.
As described above, leak detection in a heat exchanger is particularly critical to avoiding a worst case scenario when a pressure loss occurs at an external source of water, resulting in a negative pressure on the water circuit side, potentially drawing bleach or other harmful chemicals into a fluid circuit that may contaminate a patient or lead back to an external water source. An embodiment of the hemodialysis device may detect the loss of pressure at the external water source, e.g., within 40 seconds. In an embodiment, 40 seconds is determined as a function of the hemodialysis device described, as the time needed to determine a leak.
Some embodiments of the disclosed system may be implemented, for example, using a storage medium, a computer-readable medium or an article of manufacture which may store an instruction or a set of instructions that, if executed by a machine (i.e., processor or microcontroller), may cause the machine to perform a method and/or operations in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, a server or database server may include machine readable media configured to store machine executable program instructions. Such a machine may include, for example, any suitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device, processing device, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or the like, and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof and utilized in systems, subsystems, components, or sub-components thereof. The computer-readable medium or article may include, for example, any suitable type of memory unit, memory device, memory article, memory medium, storage device, storage article, storage medium and/or storage unit, for example, memory (including non-transitory memory), removable or non-removable media, erasable or non-erasable media, writeable or re-writeable media, digital or analog media, hard disk, floppy disk, Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), optical disk, magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removable memory cards or disks, various types of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a tape, a cassette, or the like. The instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, encrypted code, and the like, implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpreted programming language.
As used herein, an element or operation recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or operations, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.
This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/411,610, filed Jan. 20, 2017, entitled “Method of Detecting a Leak in a Heat Exchanger of a Hemodialysis Device,” the entire contents of which application is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
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