Patents by Inventor Katsunori Masaoka

Katsunori Masaoka 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).

  • Patent number: 7914681
    Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a hemodiafiltration apparatus capable of easily and efficiently removing medium to large molecule solutes at a low cost. Provided is a hemodialysis apparatus which uses a hemodialyzer accommodating a hollow yarn membrane in hemodiafiltration to cause a dialysis fluid to flow from a dialysis fluid circuit side to a blood circuit side by forceful back-filtration via the hemodialyzer, and to cause a fluid in the blood circuit to reflux to a dialysis fluid circuit side by filtration via the hemodialyzer, the hemodialysis apparatus being characterized in that a flux operation of the fluid from the dialysis fluid side to the blood circuit side by the back-filtration, and a reflux operation of the fluid from the blood circuit side to the dialysis fluid circuit side by the filtration are repeated intermittently and for at least a plurality of times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: JMS Co.
    Inventors: Sung-Teh Kim, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Naritomi Maeda, Katsunori Masaoka
  • Publication number: 20100312162
    Abstract: Provided is a hemodialysis apparatus which can fundamentally solve a problem in that air is trapped in a mesh disposed in a vein side chamber during priming.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2008
    Publication date: December 9, 2010
    Applicant: Kitakyusyu Institute of Biophysics
    Inventors: Katsunori Masaoka, Kazuo Maehara, Shingo Chiba, Sung-Teh Kim, Chieko Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7842001
    Abstract: An automatic priming method in which an arterial-side chamber is maintained in a normal position during priming, as in a case of dialysis treatment, and in which forward and backward rotations of a blood pump are employed, and a speed of rotation, in particular, backward rotation, is adjusted to be low, so that air or the like is reliably prevented from entering a dialyzer. The priming method for use in a blood purification circuit in which priming is conducted by supplying physiological saline into a circulation circuit formed by connecting an arterial blood circuit with a venous blood circuit includes filling the venous blood circuit with a priming solution (physiological saline), discharging the priming solution for cleaning the arterial blood circuit, conducting a treatment in a direction opposite to the overflow step, which may be followed by a forward direction re-circulation step, and re-circulating in a forward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: JMS Co.
    Inventors: Katsunori Masaoka, Takashi Doi, Kaoru Kushiyama
  • Publication number: 20100234787
    Abstract: Provided is a hemodialyzer for preventing beforehand any medical accident such as air inclusion or blood loss during a medical treatment by detecting even a minute connection failure, if any.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2008
    Publication date: September 16, 2010
    Applicant: JMS CO.
    Inventor: Katsunori Masaoka
  • Patent number: 7780848
    Abstract: A single needle hemodiafiltration apparatus is provided. The single needle hemodiafiltration apparatus includes circuits for blood supply from a patient and blood return to a patient, a dialysis fluid supply system for supplying a dialysis fluid, and a system for controlling the blood flow and dialysis fluid flow in a separation device which is equipped to perform filtration and back-filtration operations. A controller is provided that controls, in a series of coordinated operations, the flow of blood from the patient into the separation device, the flow of filtration fluid and back filtration fluid, and the return of blood to the patient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: JMS Co.
    Inventors: Sung-Teh Kim, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Naritomi Maeda, Katsunori Masaoka, Kayoko Segawa, Chieko Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20100042036
    Abstract: The present invention provides an automatic priming method by which priming is conducted while keeping, in the automatic priming, an arterial-side chamber in a normal position as in a case of dialysis treatment, and in which forward and backward rotations of a blood pump are employed, and a speed of rotation, in particular, backward rotation is adjusted to be low so that air or the like is reliably prevented from entering a dialyzer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Inventors: Katsunori Masaoka, Takashi Doi, Kaoru Kushiyama
  • Publication number: 20090159515
    Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a hemodiafiltration apparatus capable of easily and efficiently removing medium to large molecule solutes at a low cost. Provided is a hemodialysis apparatus which uses a hemodialyzer accommodating a hollow yarn membrane in hemodiafiltration to cause a dialysis fluid to flow from a dialysis fluid circuit side to a blood circuit side by forceful back-filtration via the hemodialyzer, and to cause a fluid in the blood circuit to reflux to a dialysis fluid circuit side by filtration via the hemodialyzer, the hemodialysis apparatus being characterized in that a flux operation of the fluid from the dialysis fluid side to the blood circuit side by the back-filtration, and a reflux operation of the fluid from the blood circuit side to the dialysis fluid circuit side by the filtration are repeated intermittently and for at least a plurality of times.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Publication date: June 25, 2009
    Applicant: JMS CO.
    Inventors: Sung-Teh Kim, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Naritomi Maeda, Katsunori Masaoka
  • Publication number: 20080251433
    Abstract: Provided is a hemodialyzer in which deterioration in membrane performance of a hollow fiber with time can be grasped accurately during dialysis and the performance can be recovered quickly and positively. The hemodialyzer, constituted by connecting an artery side blood circuit (2) having a blood pump (7) to the artery side of a dialyzer (1), connecting a vein side blood circuit (3) to the vein side of the dialyzer (1), and connecting a dialysate supply line (4) and a dialysate discharge line (5), respectively, to the side face of the dialyzer (1), is provided with a detector (15) for determining the pressure in the blood circuit, and a detector (16) for determining the pressure in the dialysate line, in which transmembrane pressure is calculated based on the determined pressures, and reverse filtering is performed by the dialyzer (1) when the transmembrane pressure exceeds a predetermined level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Publication date: October 16, 2008
    Applicants: JMS CO., KITAKYUSHU INSTITUTE OF BIOPHYSICS
    Inventors: Sung-Teh Kim, Chieko Yamamoto, Kayoko Segawa, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Katsunori Masaoka
  • Publication number: 20070262013
    Abstract: An automatic reinfusing system which involves no contamination or medical errors or any other operational problems and allows easy and simple operation, without imposing any burden on the medical worker. The automatic reinfusing system includes a hemodialysis circuit, wherein a solution replenishing line has a replenishing solution supply source and an opening and closing arrangement for opening and closing the solution replenishing line, a dialysate supply line and a dialysate discharge line for perfusing to the dialyzer, with a solution feeding arrangement being respectively provided for the dialysate supply line and the dialysate discharge line. At least one filtering and reverse-filtering third solution feeding arrangement capable of normal and reverse rotation and allowing flow rate control serves to perform filtering and reverse filtering on one of the dialysate supply line and the dialysate discharge line in parallel with the solution feeding arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2005
    Publication date: November 15, 2007
    Applicant: JMS CO.
    Inventors: Kunihiko Yamanaka, Katsunori Masaoka
  • Publication number: 20060138049
    Abstract: A novel single needle hemodiafiltration apparatus and a novel single needle hemodiafiltration method for purifying blood with excellent removal performance via extracorporeal circulation with a single needle type are provided. The single needle hemodiafiltration apparatus includes a blood supply system for supplying blood, a dialysis fluid supply system for supplying a dialysis fluid and a system for controlling a movement of a fluid between the two supply systems, and a filtration/back-filtration liquid supply unit provided in the dialysis fluid supply system is controlled in conjunction with a blood pump provided in the blood supply system so that blood is removed from the body synchronously with the filtration and returned to the body synchronously with the back-filtration, thereby enabling extracorporeal circulation with the single needle. At a time of filtration, substances are removed by diffusion and ultrafiltration. At a time of recirculation in the blood circuit, substances are removed by diffusion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2003
    Publication date: June 29, 2006
    Inventors: Sung-Teh Kim, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Naritomi Maeda, Katsunori Masaoka, Kayoko Segawa, Chieko Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 6971680
    Abstract: The present invention provides a dialysis coupler assembly comprising a pair of rubber-like elastic tubular couplers, and a pair of joint members for joining the couplers together. Each of the couplers includes an inner channel 14 allowing a connector associated with a medical device to be fitted therein, and a smooth surface 15, 16 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the coupler. The couplers are adapted to be joined together through the joint members in such manner that the smooth surfaces are in liquid-tight contact with one another. Each of the joint members is adapted to be attached slidably and rotatably onto corresponding one of the couplers, the joint members having first and second engagement portions, respectively. The first and second engagement portions are disposed opposed to one another and adapted to cooperatively engage the joint members with one another so as to allow the smooth surfaces to be brought into liquid-tight contact with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignees: Kitakyushu Institute of Biophysics Co., Ltd., JMS Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Nakanishi, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Hiromu Miura, Katsunori Masaoka, Takaaki Matsuo, Masahiro Taoka, Sung-Teh Kim
  • Publication number: 20040173515
    Abstract: The present invention provides a dialysis coupler assembly comprising a pair of rubber-like elastic tubular couplers, and a pair of joint members for joining the couplers together. Each of the couplers includes an inner channel 14 allowing a connector associated with a medical device to be fitted therein, and a smooth surface 15, 16 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the coupler. The couplers are adapted to be joined together through the joint members in such manner that the smooth surfaces are in liquid-tight contact with one another. Each of the joint members is adapted to be attached slidably and rotatably onto corresponding one of the couplers, the joint members having first and second engagement portions, respectively. The first and second engagement portions are disposed opposed to one another and adapted to cooperatively engage the joint members with one another so as to allow the smooth surfaces to be brought into liquid-tight contact with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2003
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Nakanishi, Kunihiko Yamanaka, Hiromu Miura, Katsunori Masaoka, Takaaki Matsuo, Masahiro Taoka, Sung-Teh Kim
  • Patent number: 6299600
    Abstract: When the control unit feedback-controls the DC brushless motor of the roller pump 5 to be driven for transferring the liquid in the flexible tube by using the pulse number of the encoder pulse from the encoder unit, the pulse number of the 4-multiplied encoder pulse, which is obtained by multiplying the pulse number of the encoder pulse by 4 by means of the frequency 4-multiplying circuit, is counted by means of the pulse counter. Therefore, since the encoder unit can multiply the pulse number of the encoder pulse which corresponds to the rotation of the output shaft of the DC brushless motor, the liquid in the flexible tube can be transferred with high constantivity even if the light-passing portion and the light-interrupting portion of the first and second encoding patterns can not been increased due to structural limitation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: JMS Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsunori Masaoka, Atsushi Ikeda, Teruhisa Saitoh