Hemodialysis Patient Data Acquisition, Management and Analysis System

Abstract

A hemodialysis patient data acquisition and management system resides on a host computer which receives information from one or more non-invasive, optical blood monitors associated with a hemodialysis system. When a patient is undergoing hemodialysis treatment, a sensor assembly monitors the patient's blood flowing through the hemodialysis system and a controller for the blood monitor generates data which includes at least an identification code for the patient undergoing the treatment on the respective system, and non-invasively determined blood data taken at the onset of the scheduled treatment, such as initial Hgb, HCT, and SAT values. A host computer communicates with the one or more optical blood monitors, preferably via a wireless network, and the patient's session commencement data is downloaded to the host computer. The host computer includes a patient database containing historical session commencement data for a plurality of patients, as well as screen displays for displaying historical data for individual patients, such as Hgb trends. The system also preferably provides a predictive algorithm for the patient's Hgb at the patient's next scheduled hemodialysis treatment session. The preferred system also includes software that provides a recommended dose of the anemia management drug for the patient.

1 . A system for hemodialysis patient data acquisition and management, comprising:
 a hemodialysis system, configured to draw blood from a patient, pass the drawn blood through extracorporeal tubing and through a dialyzer, and return the dialyzed blood through extracorporeal tubing to the patient;   a non-invasive blood monitor, the blood monitor comprising:
 a sensor assembly, configured to monitor the patient's blood flowing through the hemodialysis system, and 
 a controller, configured to generate session data for the patient which includes an identification code for the patient and blood measurement data for the patient taken at the onset of the treatment session; and 
   a host computer, configured to receive session data from the non-invasive blood monitor, the host computer comprising:
 a patient database comprising historical session data for a plurality of patients, and 
 a display screen, configured to display historical session data for a selected patient of the plurality of patients. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the non-invasive blood monitor is an optical blood monitor congiured to monitor the patient's blood flowing through the hemodialysis system in real-time. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 2 , wherein the sensor assembly comprises:
 a blood chamber having an inlet and an outlet which are connected inline with extracorporeal tubing for the hemodialysis system, and a fluid passageway through which the blood drawn from the patient flows;   a first photo emitter, configured to emit light at a first wavelength to pass through the blood chamber and the drawn blood flowing through the blood chamber;   a second photo emitter, configured to emit light at a second wavelength to pass through the blood chamber and the drawn blood flowing through the blood chamber; and   at least one photo detector, configured to detect the intensity of light at each wavelength after it passes through the blood chamber and the drawn blood;   wherein the controller is further configured to determine hematocrit values from the detected intensity of the light at the first and second wavelengths using a ratiometric model.   
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 3 , wherein the sensor assembly further comprises:
 a third photo emitter, configured to emit light at a third wavelength to pass through the blood chamber and the drawn blood flowing through the blood chamber; and   a photo detector corresponding to the third photo emitter, configured to detect the intensity of light at the third wavelength after it has passed through the blood chamber and the blood flowing through the blood chamber;   wherein the controller is further configured to determine an oxygen saturation value for the patient using a ratiometric model.   
     
     
         5 . The system according to claim I, wherein the host computer is configured to communicate with multiple non-invasive blood monitors corresponding to multiple hemodialysis systems. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 5 , wherein the communications between the multiple non-invasive blood monitors and the host computer are wireless communications. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the session data for the patient comprises an initial hematocrit value and an initial oxygen saturation value. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the session data for the patient further comprises an initial hemoglobin value. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the host computer comprises an input interface for receiving manually-input patient session data. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein displaying the historical session data for the selected patient comprises displaying a graphical depiction illustrating a minimum desired hemoglobin value, a maximum desired hemoglobin value for the patient, and a historical trend line of initial hemoglobin values from a series of previous hemodialysis treatment sessions for the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the non-invasive blood monitor further comprises a display screen configured to display real-time hematocrit values determined by the controller. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the host computer is configured to determine the patient's expected initial hemoglobin level for the patient's next scheduled treatment session based on a predictive model. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the host computer is configured to output a therapeutic care recommendation based on historical patient session data and predicted future patient session data. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein the host computer is further configured to determine a dosage recommendation for administration of an anemia management drug for the patient based on historical hemoglobin values for the patient stored in the patient database and based on a predicted hemoglobin value for the patient at a future treatment session. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 14 , wherein the historical hemoglobin values upon which the dosage recommendation is based includes at least three historical data points of hemoglobin corresponding to the patient for at least three prior hemodialysis treatment sessions.