Electrical safety methods, devices, and systems for medical treatment devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10300221-B2
Application number	US-201715717477-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2017
Priority date	Jun 8, 2011
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices can detect a dangerous or adverse condition or anticipated condition that indicates an undesirable amount of electric current in a patient-connected tube providing fluid to a patient. The fluid flow to the patient is stopped responsive to the detection. Stoppage of fluid flow to the patient can reduce or prevent electric current in the fluid from reaching a patient, flowing through the patient to ground, and/or continuing to flow through the patient.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for protecting a patient from an electrical source of a treatment device, the method comprising:
connecting the patient to a treatment device by a fluid circuit in which a leakage current is induced by capacitive and/or inductive coupling of the fluid circuit with the treatment device over multiple paths to the patient;
providing conductive elements adjacent the fluid circuit for each of the multiple paths such that they are capacitively coupled to the fluid circuit, wherein the conductive element is electrically isolated from a fluid carried by said fluid circuit and the fluid carried by the fluid circuit is conductive;
detecting an inducing of a voltage in said conductive elements and detecting a magnitude of the sum of the currents in said multiple paths indicated by voltages in said capacitive and/or inductive coupling; and
in response to the sum
interrupting a normal operation of the treatment device effective to reduce said leakage current,
outputting a human perceptible output indicating the magnitude of the voltage, or
interrupting continuity of said fluid between the treatment device and a patient connector.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element is adjacent a tube of said fluid circuit.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the conductive element is a curved plate that wraps at least partly around the tube.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element is a metal clip.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interrupting a normal operation includes closing a valve.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interrupting a normal operation includes pinching a tube of said fluid circuit to isolate fluid in one portion of the fluid circuit with fluid in another portion of the fluid circuit so that current cannot be carried from the fluid in the one portion of the fluid circuit to the fluid in the another portion.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid carried by the fluid circuit includes blood.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid carried by the fluid circuit includes dialysate.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment device includes an intravenous pump.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment device includes a dialysis system.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnitude is responsive to the phases of the currents in said multiple paths.

Assignees

• Nxstage Medical Inc

Inventors

• Kogan Yakov

Classifications

• A61M1/14 Primary

  Dialysis systems; Artificial kidneys; Blood oxygenators (semi-permeable membranes characterised by the material, manufacturing processes therefor B01D71/00){; Reciprocating systems for treatment of body fluids, e.g. single needle systems for hemofiltration or pheresis} · CPC title

• A61M1/3496

  Plasmapheresis; Leucopheresis; Lymphopheresis (A61M1/3472 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61M1/38

  Removing constituents from donor blood and {storing or} returning remainder to body {, e.g. for transfusion} · CPC title

• A61M1/36

  Other treatment of blood in a by-pass of the natural circulatory system, e.g. temperature adaptation, irradiation {; Extra-corporeal blood circuits} · CPC title

• A61M2205/0233

  Conductive materials, e.g. antistatic coatings for spark prevention · CPC title