Peritoneal dialysis system

Abstract

The invention relates to a peritoneal dialysis sampling system to be used together with a peritoneal dialysis system which is programmed to deliver fluid to a peritoneal cavity of a patient and to drain the fluid from the cavity, said peritoneal dialysis system comprising a supplying line and supplying means for supplying dialysis fluid to the peritoneal cavity, a draining line and draining means for draining the fluid from the cavity, said peritoneal dialysis sampling system being characterized by the fact that it consists of an automatic sampling system which is able to automatically sample volumic fractions of the dialysate contained in the peritoneum of the patient at specific time intervals in order to evaluate the peritoneal membrane characteristics and/or improve the peritoneal dialysis for a given patient.

1 . Automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system adapted to automatically sample at specific time intervals volumic fractions of a dialysate contained in the peritoneum of a patient in order to evaluate the peritoneal membrane characteristics and/or improve the peritoneal dialysis for a given patient, said peritoneal dialysis sampling system being characterized by the fact that it comprises a series of sampling containers, pumping means and a series of valves adapted to direct a certain quantity of each fluid sample to a specific sampling container.  
     
     
         2 . Peritoneal dialysis system comprising an automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system according to  claim 1 , a supplying line and supplying means for supplying dialysis fluid to a peritoneal cavity, a draining line, draining means for draining the fluid from said peritoneal cavity, connecting means for allowing a connection to a Y-site on the draining line which is situated between the patient peritoneum and the draining means of the peritoneal dialysis system.  
     
     
         3 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for defining the specific time intervals for sampling volumic fractions in relation with the peritoneal dialysis program sequences,  
     
     
         4 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for allowing the use of different peritoneal dialysis liquids and/or different concentrations for each exchange cycle.  
     
     
         5 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for allowing the automatic sampling during the dwell time of the peritoneal dialysis cycle and/or during the drain cycle.  
     
     
         6 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein said valves are of electromagnetic type.  
     
     
         7 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein said pumping means is of a peristaltic type.  
     
     
         8 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising connecting means for connecting it to the draining line between the draining means and a waste collector In order to collect samples of specific drain cycles.  
     
     
         9 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  furthermore comprising means for eliminating a volume of liquid between two samplings at feast equivalent to the dead volume contained between the patient and the sampling level.  
     
     
         10 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  furthermore comprising an automatic peritoneal dialysis exchange system. both automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system and automatic peritoneal dialysis exchange system being connected to the patient peritoneum and comprising means for exchanging information together in order for the automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system to determine the appropriate timing for each sampling on the basis of the dialysis exchange cycles of the automatic peritoneal dialysis exchange system.  
     
     
         11 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 10  wherein both automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system and automatic peritoneal dialysis exchange system are adapted to be synchronized between each other.  
     
     
         12 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein it comprises a memory key which contains all the necessary data to program the functioning of said automatic peritoneal dialysis sampling system and to store the sampling information.  
     
     
         13 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein sampling containers consist of soft pouches.  
     
     
         14 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein the sampling containers contain vacuum in order to draw the liquid automatically when in open connection with the drawing line.  
     
     
         15 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  furthermore comprising means for sequentially collecting sample volumes in a tubing, each sample being separated from the previous one by an air bubble inserted by the automatic peritoneal sampling system in-between each sample.  
     
     
         16 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  wherein said sampling containers are enclosed inside a cooling box which comprises cooling means to maintain the samples In optimal condition for storage until analysis.  
     
     
         17 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising analyzing means for directly analyzing of at least one characteristic of the sample in-line, such as by spectroscopy, fluorometry or by use of chemical or electrochemical means.  
     
     
         18 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 17  wherein said analyzing means allows the measurement of at least one of the following constituents or characteristics: glucose, urea, creatinine, Sodium, Chloride, albumine, proteins, osmolarity or ph.  
     
     
         19 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 17  comprising means which use the result of the in-line analysis to optimize the next peritoneal dialysis exchange cycle or sampling intervals in order to improve the membrane characteristics evaluation and/or improve the peritoneal dialysis for a specific patient.  
     
     
         20 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 19  comprising means for defining the specific time intervals for sampling volumic fractions in relation with the peritoneal dialysis program sequences.  
     
     
         21 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for using different peritoneal dialysis liquids and/or different concentrations for each exchange cycle, whether it is a tidal exchange or a full exchange cycle.  
     
     
         22 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for allowing the automatic sampling to occur during the dwell time of the peritoneal dialysis cycle and/or during the drain cycle in order to improve the evaluation of the peritoneal membrane characteristics and/or improve the peritoneal dialysis for a specific patient.  
     
     
         23 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for eliminating a volume of liquid at least equivalent to the dead volume contained between the patient and the sampling level between two samplings.  
     
     
         24 . Peritoneal dialysis system according to  claim 2  comprising means for sequentially collecting the sampling volumes in a tubing and for separating each sample from the previous one by an air bubble inserted by the automatic peritoneal sampling system in-between each sample.