Patents by Inventor Andreas Maierhofer

Andreas Maierhofer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20200188572
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for extracorporeal blood treatment, comprising a blood treatment unit 1 that comprises at least one compartment 4. The invention further relates to a method for determining a hemodynamic parameter during an extracorporeal blood treatment by means of an extracorporeal blood treatment device. In order to determine the hemodynamic parameter, the conveying direction of the blood pump 10 is reversed from a “normal” blood flow to a “reversed” blood flow. In practice, it has been found that reversing the conveying direction of the blood pump for a measurement for determining a hemodynamic parameter carries the risk of blood clots reaching the patient, despite the dialyser holding back blood clots. The blood treatment device comprises an input unit 23 for inputting a time interval which can be specified by the user, taking into account the patient-specific and system-specific factors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Applicant: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Publication number: 20200139033
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for extracorporeal blood treatment, comprising a blood treatment unit 1 that comprises at least one compartment 3. The invention further relates to an apparatus 15A, 15B for collecting blood clots for a blood line 5, 7 for supplying blood to or removing blood from a blood treatment unit 1 of an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus, and to a method for determining a hemodynamic parameter during extracorporeal blood treatment using an extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus. In order to determine the hemodynamic parameter, the conveying direction of the blood pump 10 is reversed from a “normal” blood flow to a “reversed” blood flow. It has been found in practice that, in the event of a reversal in the conveying direction of the blood pump in order to carry out a measurement for determining a hemodynamic parameter, there is a risk of blood clots reaching the patients, although the dialyser traps blood clots.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Patent number: 10639411
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device and a method for detecting the direction of fluid flow through a dialyser 1 which comprises a blood chamber 4, through which blood flows, and a dialysate chamber 3, through which dialysate flows, which are separated from one another by a semi-permeable membrane 2. In addition, the invention relates to an extracorporeal blood treatment device comprising a device for detecting the flow direction. A first aspect of the invention is to measure the clearance in order to detect the flow direction and to compare the measured clearance with a specified limit value, a flow direction in countercurrent flow being concluded if the clearance is greater than the specified limit value. This aspect is based on the finding that in the case of blood treatment in practice with operation of the dialyser in co-current flow, clearance values above a certain limit value can no longer be achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Patent number: 10569001
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a device for determining an optimum dialysate flow Qdopt for an extracorporeal blood treatment and to a blood treatment device comprising a device 18 for determining an optimum dialysate flow Qdopt. The optimum dialysate flow Qdopt is determined on the basis of a relationship describing the dependence of the clearance K on the dialysate flow Qd. The device according to the invention comprises a measurement device 18B for measuring at least one value which is characteristic of the clearance K, a calculation and/or evaluation unit 18A of the device according to the invention being configured in such a way that the clearance K is determined on the basis of the at least one value which is characteristic of the clearance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Pascal Kopperschmidt, Andreas Maierhofer, Alfred Gagel, Andreas Wupper, Ulrich Moissl
  • Patent number: 10532140
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system comprising a plurality of medical devices, preferably dialysis devices, which are connected to a common supply system, wherein the system has an evaluation unit which is connected to all devices of the system and which is configured such that values set in the different devices and/or predefined values and/or measured values, which are determined by means of at least one sensor and which relate to corresponding parameters, are compared with at least one expected value for recognizing errors of the supply system and/or of an individual device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Publication number: 20190361409
    Abstract: An automation system (1) determines control data (S?), outputs same to controlled elements (5) of the facility (ANL) and thereby controls the facility (ANL). Sensor devices (2) acquire measurement data (M) of the facility (ANL) and at least partly feed same to the automation system (1) and a man-machine interface (3). Said man-machine interface (3) receives planning data (P) from a production planning system (11) and/or control data (S?) and/or internal data (I) from the automation system (1). The interface outputs the data (M, S?, I) to a person (4). It furthermore receives control commands (S) from the person (4) and forwards them to the automation system (1). The automation system (1) processes the measurement data (M) and the control commands (S) when determining the control data (S?). An artificial intelligence unit (9) receives at least part of the measurement data (M), control data (S?) and/or internal data (I) and the data output to the person (4). It also receives the control commands (S).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2017
    Publication date: November 28, 2019
    Inventors: Dieter BETTINGER, Kurt HERZOG, Thomas KUEHAS, Matthias KURZ, Andreas MAIERHOFER, Thomas MATSCHULLAT, Günther WINTER
  • Publication number: 20190223805
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of determining the body temperature or a temperature correlated therewith of a patient connected to an extracorporeal blood circuit, wherein the extracorporeal blood circuit has a heat exchanger which is flowed through by blood at one side and by a heat carrier medium at the other side, wherein the temperature (Tdi) of the heat carrier medium at the inlet side is measured at the inlet of the heat exchanger and the temperature (Tdo) of the heat carrier medium at the outlet side is measured at the outlet of the heat exchanger and the volume flow of the heat carrier medium (Qd) is measured; and in that the temperature (Tbi) of the blood at the inlet side is determined at the inlet of the heat exchanger in accordance with the relationship Tbi=Tdi (Qd/D) (Tdo?Tdi), where the value D is a value characteristic of the heat transfer by the heat exchanger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2017
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas MAIERHOFER
  • Patent number: 10349876
    Abstract: The invention relates to a dialysis machine having the capability of determining a predialytic property in the blood of a dialysis patient which has an extracorporeal blood circuit, a dialyzate circuit, a dialyzer and a processing unit, wherein at least one sensor for determining a property of the dialyzate is arranged in the dialyzate circuit. The processing unit is configured such that temporal evaluation ranges are fixed during an initial phase of the dialysis treatment, in which temporal evaluation ranges all stability criteria from a predefined group are satisfied; and in that only measured values determined by the at least one sensor within these temporal evaluation ranges are used for determining a predialytic property of the patient's blood.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Publication number: 20190160502
    Abstract: A metal band (1) is first rolled in a front (upstream) and then in a rear (downstream) roll stand (2a, 2b) of a multi-stand rolling train. A looper (3) applied on the metal band (1) between the roll stands (2a, 2b) detects a band tension (Z) present in the metal band (1). The band tension (Z) is supplied to a first and a second tension controller (8, 9), which determine an application additional target value (?s*, ?F*) and a speed additional target value (?v*). The second tension controller (9) only determines a value less than or greater than 0, as the speed additional target value (?v*), if the band tension (Z) is above or below an upper or lower band tension limit (Z1, Z2). Otherwise, same returns the speed additional target value (?v*) to the value 0. The first tension controller (8) is also supplied with a target tension (Z*) that falls between the band tension limits (Z1, Z2).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Ansgar GRÜSS, Daniel KOTZIAN, Andreas MAIERHOFER
  • Patent number: 10155077
    Abstract: A dialysis machine has at least one filter for the filtration of dialysis liquid and a device for determining calcification of the dialysis machine. The device has one or more sensors configured and arranged to detect either downstream, or upstream and downstream, of the at least one filter an ion concentration or a parameter representative of the ion concentration or of its change of the dialysis liquid, of a solution serving the decalcification or of another measuring solution. The device for determining the calcification of the dialysis machine has an evaluation or calcification unit configured to determine the calcification of the dialysis machine based on the ion concentration or parameter value detected by the sensor or sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Maierhofer, Alfred Gagel, Malte Gross, Michael Koch
  • Publication number: 20180303393
    Abstract: The invention relates to a blood treatment device with an extracorporeal blood circulation, which uses a gas sensor to measure the concentration of a gas in the gas supernatant of the drip chamber of the extracorporeal blood circulation. The blood treatment device has an evaluation unit, which calculates the corresponding partial pressure of the gas in the blood from the values measured in the gas supernatant in the drip chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Publication date: October 25, 2018
    Applicant: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Andreas MAIERHOFER
  • Patent number: 10010289
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to Method for monitoring a dialysis treatment of a patient, preferably for monitoring a haemodialysis, haemodiafiltration and/or peritoneal dialysis treatment of a patient, the method including the steps of: irradiating a sample of a dialysis fluid used in the dialysis treatment with linearly polarized irradiation light; detecting the intensity of the fluorescence light emitted by the dialysis fluid in a first polarization plane; detecting the intensity of the fluorescence light emitted by the dialysis fluid in a second polarization plane which is different from the first polarization plane; determining the anisotropy of the fluorescence light emitted by the dialysis fluid; and determining the concentration of at least one fluorophore in the dialysis fluid on the basis of both, the determined anisotropy and the intensity of the fluorescence light emitted by the dialysis fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventors: Alfred Gagel, Andreas Maierhofer
  • Publication number: 20170312411
    Abstract: The invention relates to a system comprising a plurality of medical devices, preferably dialysis devices, which are connected to a common supply system, wherein the system has an evaluation unit which is connected to all devices of the system and which is configured such that values set in the different devices and/or predefined values and/or measured values, which are determined by means of at least one sensor and which relate to corresponding parameters, are compared with at least one expected value for recognizing errors of the supply system and/or of an individual device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2015
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas MAIERHOFER
  • Publication number: 20170265793
    Abstract: The invention relates to a dialysis machine having the capability of determining a predialytic property in the blood of a dialysis patient which has an extracorporeal blood circuit, a dialyzate circuit, a dialyzer and a processing unit, wherein at least one sensor for determining a property of the dialyzate is arranged in the dialyzate circuit. The processing unit is configured such that temporal evaluation ranges are fixed during an initial phase of the dialysis treatment, in which temporal evaluation ranges all stability criteria from a predefined group are satisfied; and in that only measured values determined by the at least one sensor within these temporal evaluation ranges are used for determining a predialytic property of the patient's blood.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2015
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas MAIERHOFER
  • Publication number: 20170270264
    Abstract: Alarm messages, which are output by a medical apparatus, are remotely processed on a remote application apparatus under consideration of a safety check and in particular with regard to whether the user who is working at the application apparatus is in visual contact with the alarm message-triggering medical apparatus. The medical apparatus may be a hemodialysis apparatus or a peritoneal dialysis apparatus, or another type of medical apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Inventors: Andreas Maierhofer, Carsten Müller
  • Publication number: 20170224897
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a device for determining an optimum dialysate flow Qdopt for an extracorporeal blood treatment and to a blood treatment device comprising a device 18 for determining an optimum dialysate flow Qdopt. The optimum dialysate flow Qdopt is determined on the basis of a relationship describing the dependence of the clearance K on the dialysate flow Qd. The device according to the invention comprises a measurement device 18B for measuring at least one value which is characteristic of the clearance K, a calculation and/or evaluation unit 18A of the device according to the invention being configured in such a way that the clearance K is determined on the basis of the at least one value which is characteristic of the clearance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2015
    Publication date: August 10, 2017
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventors: Pascal Kopperschmidt, Andreas Maierhofer, Alfred Gagel, Andreas Wupper, Ulrich Moissl
  • Publication number: 20170209634
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device and a method for detecting the direction of fluid flow through a dialyser 1 which comprises a blood chamber 4, through which blood flows, and a dialysate chamber 3, through which dialysate flows, which are separated from one another by a semi-permeable membrane 2. In addition, the invention relates to an extracorporeal blood treatment device comprising a device for detecting the flow direction. A first aspect of the invention is to measure the clearance in order to detect the flow direction and to compare the measured clearance with a specified limit value, a flow direction in countercurrent flow being concluded if the clearance is greater than the specified limit value. This aspect is based on the finding that in the case of blood treatment in practice with operation of the dialyser in co-current flow, clearance values above a certain limit value can no longer be achieved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2015
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Applicant: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Patent number: 9671222
    Abstract: Measurement accuracy during determination of the thickness of rolling stock, in particular a rolling strip or a metal plate, is remotely measured using a base measurement value for the thickness obtained by a radiation measurement system having a radiation source and a radiation detector, both carried by a holding mechanism. A reference measurement value for the thickness is measured by an ultrasonic measurement head that is likewise arranged on the holding mechanism. The reference measurement value is used to eliminate the influence of errors on the base measurement value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: PRIMETALS TECHNOLOGIES GERMANY GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Maierhofer
  • Patent number: 9610395
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for reversing the blood flow for an extracorporeal blood treatment device, comprising an extracorporeal blood circuit (I), which includes an arterial blood line (108A) leading from a patient to a blood treatment unit (204) and a venous blood line (106A) leading from the blood treatment unit to the patient. Furthermore, the invention relates to an extracorporeal blood treatment device with a device for reversing the blood flow, and to a method for determining the reversal of the blood flow during an extracorporeal blood treatment. The device for reversing the blood flow for an extracorporeal blood treatment device according to the invention comprises two valve bodies (102, 104) which are rotated relative to one another for reversing the blood flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Maierhofer, Malte Gross
  • Patent number: 9215985
    Abstract: A method of monitoring a treatment of a patient, preferably for monitoring hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration and/or peritoneal dialysis, that includes the steps of irradiating a sample of a dialysis liquid used in the treatment with irradiation light of at least a first irradiation wavelength, detecting light emitted by the irradiated sample in at least a first detection wavelength, the detection wavelength being different from the first irradiation wavelength, and determining the presence and/or concentration of at least one analyte in the sample on the basis of the detected light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
    Inventors: Malte Gross, Pascal Kopperschmidt, Andreas Maierhofer, Alfred Gagel