Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining a fluid flow rate in a blood access having an upstream position and a downstream position using a dialysis system. The dialysis system includes a dialyzer having a semi permeable membrane delimiting a first chamber through which blood removed from said blood access passes, and a second chamber through which dialysis liquid passes. In addition, an arterial line and a venous line are connected to an inlet and an outlet of the first chamber, respectively.

Abstract: An apparatus, a process and a system for monitoring a plurality of patients (P) affected by kidney failure over a time frame (T) are disclosed. The system includes blood treatment units, laboratory storage units, at least one hub module, and client units. The system collects values (VM) of a plurality of session parameters, set values (VS) of a plurality of prescription parameters, values (VL) of a plurality of laboratory parameters and the hub module stores values (KPVi) of selected parameters (KPi) which are a subclass of the collected values (VM, VS, VL) and which are transferred to the client units. Each client unit may define, for each of said patients, a number of indicators (IDk) based on the values (KPVi,k) taken by a respective subclass (KPi,k) of said selected parameters (KPi) and to operate the respective display according to various display modes.

Abstract: In a single needle extracorporeal blood treatment apparatus, an ultrafiltration pump (10) performs a pure ultrafiltration of ultrafiltrate from an hemofilter (4). The blood may be continuously circulated through the hemofilter using a first pump (5), which alternates an higher flow rate during the arterial phase and a lower flow rate during the venous phase, and a second pump (6) which is maintained at a flow rate intermediate between said higher and lower flow rate. The apparatus may be used for treatment of Congestive Heart Failure.

Abstract: A cardiac-activity based prediction of a rapid drop in a patient's blood pressure during extracorporeal blood treatment is disclosed. A proposed alarm apparatus includes a primary beat morphology analysis unit bank of secondary analysis units and an alarm generating unit. The primary beat morphology analysis unit discriminates heart beats in a received basic electrocardiogram signal, classifies each beat into one out of at least two different beat categories, and associates each segment of the signal with relevant event-type data. The event-type data and the basic electrocardiogram signal together form an enhanced electrocardiogram signal, based upon which the primary beat morphology analysis unit determines whether one or more secondary signal analyses should be performed.