Device for detecting moisture for use with a device for monitoring an access to a patient, in particular for monitoring the vascular access in an extracorporeal blood treatment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9867934-B2
Application number	US-201514807238-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 23, 2015
Priority date	Mar 23, 2010
Publication date	Jan 16, 2018
Grant date	Jan 16, 2018

Abstract

A device for detecting moisture for use with a device for monitoring an access to a patient for an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus is described. The device for detecting moisture is constituted as a two-dimensionally extending fabric to be placed on the patient's skin, having an electrically conductive structure as a moisture sensor and constituted by non-conductive and conductive warp and weft threads configured to produce in the woven fabric a defined electrically conductive structure through spatial separation of the warp and weft threads. By the use of conductive warp and weft threads, an electrically conductive structure can be constituted having sections running in different directions, thereby creating a moisture sensor exhibiting a particularly high degree of sensitivity. The electrically conductive structure is preferably terminated with a terminating resistor, preferably not a component part but rather part of a connection part of the device, so that production is simplified.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for detecting moisture for use with a device for monitoring an access to a patient for an apparatus with which at least one of a fluid is fed to the patient or is carried away from the patient via a hose line, the device for detecting moisture comprising:
a textile two-dimensionally extending fabric configured to be placed onto a patient's skin, said textile two-dimensionally extending fabric comprising non-conductive warp threads, non-conductive weft threads, conductive warp threads and conductive weft threads interwoven at least partially in a same layer of the fabric and disposed such that an electrically conductive structure as a moisture sensor is formed.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive structure comprises a first strip conductor and a second strip conductor, ends of the first and second strip conductors being constituted as terminal contacts, and the first strip conductor and the second strip conductor being disposed lying beside one another in a plurality of sections.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive structure comprises a strip conductor constituted as a closed conductor loop, ends of the strip conductor being constituted as terminal contacts, and the strip conductor comprising a plurality of sections disposed lying beside one another.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive structure comprises a plurality of electrically conductive sections running in a first direction and a plurality of electrically conductive sections running in a second direction, the first and second directions being at right angles to one another.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric is formed at least partially as a woven fabric with a plurality of layers.

6. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the electrically conductive and electrically non-conductive warp and weft threads are disposed in the multi-layer woven fabric such that:
a layer configured to be placed on the patient's skin, which is non-conductive, a layer in which electrically conductive sections of a strip conductor run in a first direction, and a layer in which electrically conductive sections of the strip conductor run in a second direction, are formed.

7. The device according to claim 6 , wherein the electrically conductive and electrically non-conductive warp and weft threads are disposed in the multi-layer woven fabric such that an intermediate layer, which is not electrically conductive, is situated between the layer in which the sections of the strip conductor run in the first direction and the layer in which the sections of the strip conductor run in the second direction.

8. The device according to claim 6 , wherein, in order to create electrical contact points, electrically conductive warp threads partially change position in the multi-layer woven fabric, such that electrically conductive warp and weft threads come into contact at points of intersection.

9. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the sections of the strip conductors are formed by one of a plurality of electrically conductive warp threads and a plurality of electrically conductive weft threads running beside one another.

10. The device according to claim 9 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric is cut out such that a part of the one of the plurality of electrically conductive warp threads and the plurality of electrically conductive weft threads running beside one another is severed.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric comprises a circular cutout or a cross-shaped cutout.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric is U-shaped.

13. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric is circular.

14. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric comprises a tab on which the terminal contacts are disposed.

15. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric comprises a section with a cutout and a section with a cover for the cutout, wherein the electrically conductive structure is formed such that the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric is sensitive to moisture at an upper layer.

16. A device for monitoring an access to a patient for an apparatus with which at least one of a fluid is fed to the patient or a fluid is carried away from the patient via a hose line, the device for monitoring comprising:
a device for detecting moisture according to claim 1 .

17. The device according to claim 16 , further comprising:
an evaluation unit which is connected to the device for detecting moisture.

18. The device according to claim 17 , further comprising:
a connection part to which the device for detecting moisture is connected.

19. The device according to claim 18 , wherein the connection part comprises four terminal contacts, two of the four terminal contacts being connected to a connection cable in order to produce an electrical connection between the evaluation unit and the device for detecting moisture, and a remaining two of the four terminal contacts being connected electrically to one another via a terminating resistor.

20. The device according to claim 19 , wherein the connection part is formed as a clamping device for clamping the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric.

21. A blood treatment apparatus with an extracorporeal blood circuit, comprising:
an arterial blood line with an arterial cannula and a venous blood line with a venous cannula, and a device for monitoring the vascular access according to claim 16 .

22. A method for production of devices for detecting moisture for use with a device for monitoring an access to a patient for an apparatus with which at least one of a fluid is fed to the patient and a fluid is carried away from the patient via a hose line, the method comprising:
weaving a textile two-dimensionally extending fabric comprising non-conductive warp threads, non-conductive weft threads, conductive warp threads and conductive weft threads interwoven at least partially in a same layer of the fabric, the conductive and non-conductive warp and weft threads being disposed such that the conductive and non-conductive warp and weft threads form an electrically conductive structure, and wherein the conductive and non-conductive warp and weft threads form a non-conductive layer configured to be placed on the patient's skin, a layer in which electrically conductive sections of a strip conductor run in a first direction, and a layer in which electrically conductive sections of the strip conductor run in a second direction; and
separating individual devices configured to detect moisture into single units.

23. The method according to claim 22 , further comprising:
applying an adhesive layer on a side of the textile two-dimensionally extending fabric to be placed on a patient's skin, and applying a covering material covering the adhesive layer.

24. The method according to claim 23 , wherein the adhesive layer is impermeable to moisture.

25. The device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the access is a vascular access in an extracorporeal blood treatment;
the fluid is a patient's blood;
the hose line includes an arterial hose line

Assignees

• Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland Gmbh

Inventors

• Heppe John

Classifications

• A61M1/3656

  Monitoring patency or flow at connection sites; Detecting disconnections · CPC title

• A61M1/3659

  Cannulae pertaining to extracorporeal circulation · CPC title

• D03D1/0088

  Fabrics having an electronic function · CPC title

• A61M5/16836 Primary

  by sensing tissue properties at the infusion site, e.g. for detecting infiltration (detecting tissue temperature for diagnostic purposes A61M39/0247) · CPC title

• A61F13/42

  with wetness indicator or alarm · CPC title