An apparatus for transferring a gas between two liquids

Claim 2

AHEAT-LUNG COMBINATION COMPRISING A HOUSING CONTAINING A LIQUID WHICH HAS A HIGH SOLUBILITY FOR OXYGEN AND INTO WHICH OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS IS INTRODUCED, A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY LONG, SMALL DIAMETER TUBES CONSTRUCTED OF A RESILIENT, FLEXIBLE, GAS PERVIOUS MATERIAL FOR THE TRANSFER OF OXYGEN TO BLOOD FLOWING IN THE TUBES, THE TUBES BEING DISPOSED IN THE HOUSING AND IN FLUID COMMUNICATION THROUGH BLOOD INLET AND BLOOD OUTLET MEANS WITH THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOUSING FOR CONNECTION TO A CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, FIRST VALVE MEANS COMMUNICATING THE HOUSING INTERIOR WITH THE EXTERIOR, AND CHECK VALVE MEANS DISPOSED IN THE BLOOD INLET AND BLOOD OUTLET MEANS TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF BLOOD, MEANS TO PROVIDE PRESSURIZATION OF THE LIQUID IN THE HOUSING AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ALTERNATINGLY OPENING AND CLOSING THE FIRST VALVE MEANS WHEREBY THE TUBES ARE ALTERNATINGLY COMPRESSED AND EXPANDED AND THEREBY ALTERNATINGLY DRAW BLOOD IN A FLOW DIRECTION FROM THE HOUSING EXTERIOR INTO THE TUBES AND FORCE BLOOD IN THE SAME DIRECTION OF FLOW FROM THE TUBES TO THE HOUSING EXTERIOR.

Claim 3

A heart-lung combination according to claim 1 including means connecting the tube ends to an upstream tube end member and a downstream tube end member, wherein said tube end members extend through the housing and communicate with the housing exterior for connection to the circulatory system, and wherein the tube end members are constructed of a deformable and resilient material.

Claim 4

A heart-lung combination according to claim 1 including first and second tube means extending through the housing, means fluidly connecting the ends of said small diameter tubes to respective first and second tube meaNs said first tube means being connected to the upstream ends of said tubes and said second tube means being connected to the downstream ends of said tubes, and wherein the check valve means are disposed in the tube means and comprise a first disc disposed in the first tube means, means biasing the first disc in an upstream direction, and a first interface means against which the biased disc seats, and a second disc disposed in said second tube means, means biasing the second disc in an upstream direction, and a second interface means against which the biased second disc seats, so that when the pressure in the tubes exceeds the pressure of the blood on the exterior of the housing, a blood flow from the tubes past the second disc occurs and when the blood pressure in the tubes is less than the blood pressure on the exterior of the housing upstream of the tubes, a blood flow past the first disc into the tubes takes place.

Claim 5

An artificial heart-lung combination according to claim 3 wherein the discs are constructed of a flexible material and wherein the biasing means comprises means substantially rigidly securing one portion of the disc to the adjacent tube means whereby blood flow past the disc occurs through deflection of peripheral portions of the disc with respect to a center portion.

Claim 8

The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the heating means comprises a heating coil surrounding the tubes and disposed adjacent the exit for the first liquid from the housing, said apparatus further including means disposed interiorly of the housing and adjacent an entrance for the first liquid into the housing for cooling entering first liquid to facilitate the gas transfer between the second liquid and the first liquid.

Claim 9

A heart-lung machine which comprises a housing in which an oxygen containing gas is introduced and which contains a multiplicity of flexible tubes which consist of gas-permeable material which are positioned to form a bundle, said bundle having at one end an inlet means for low oxygen content blood and at the other end an outlet means for oxygen-enriched blood, said inlet and outlet means extending through the housing, the housing having an opening, said housing having positioned thereon a housing valve means for selectively opening and closing said housing opening, the inlet means for low oxygen content blood is provided with an inlet check valve, which is closed when said housing valve is closed, and the outlet means for oxygen enriched blood is provided with an outlet check valve which is opened when the said housing valve is closed, the alternate opening of the housing valve causing the closing of the outlEt means check valve and the opening of the inlet means check valve whereby there is a blood flow which is maintained in the only one direction said housing containing a liquid which has a high solubility for oxygen and heating means whereby the blood flowing through the tube bundle is heated to a suitable temperature, and means for supplying an oxygen containing gas to said liquid within said housing.

Claim 10

A heart-lung machine which comprises a housing in which an oxygen containing gas is introduced and which contains a multiplicity of flexible tubes which consist of gas-permeable material which are positioned to form a bundle, said bundle having at one end an inlet means for low oxygen content blood and at the other end an outlet means for oxygen-enriched blood, said inlet and outlet means extending through the housing, the housing having an opening, said housing having positioned thereon a housing valve means for selectively opening and closing said housing opening, the inlet means for low oxygen content blood is provided with an inlet check valve, which is closed when said housing valve is closed, and the outlet means for oxygen enriched blood is provided with an outlet check valve which is opened when the said housing valve is closed, the alternate opening of the housing valve causing the closing of the outlEt means check valve and the opening of the inlet means check valve whereby there is a blood flow which is maintained in the only one direction said housing containing a liquid which has a high solubility for oxygen and heating means whereby the blood flowing through the tube bundle is heated to a suitable temperature, and means for supplying an oxygen containing gas to said liquid within said housing.

Claim 19

An apparatus according to claim 11 including means positioned adjacent the low oxygen content blood inlet means for cooling the blood flow to increase its oxygen absorbtion.

Claim 20

An apparatus according to claim 11 including means adjacent the oxygen-enriched blood outlet means for heating the blood to about body temperature.

Claim 21

An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the oxygen enriched blood heating means is disposed interiorly of the housing.

Claim 22

An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the inlet for introducing oxygen containing gas is disposed adjacent a lowermost portion of the housing for supplying oxygen to the liquid.

Claim 23

An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said housing outlet is disposed adjacent an uppermost portion of the housing for the withdrawal of gas from the housing.

Claim 24

An apparatus according to claim 11 including means bonding the ends of the tubes to each other, and means bonded to the ends of the tubes and forming headers between the respective ends of said tubes and the blood inlet means and the blood outlet means.

Claim 25

A heart-lung apparatus for transferring oxygen from a liquid to blood and for pumping said blood, comprising a multiplicity of resilient, flexible, gas pervious tubes disposed in a housing, which tubes under superatmospheric pressure are at least partially reduced in volume and which when the pressure is reduced substantially return to their previous size and shape, said housing containing a liquid which surrounds said tubes, said tubes having an inlet means for low oxygen content blood at one end thereof and outlet means for oxygen enriched blood at the other end thereof, the housing having an inlet means for introducing into the liquid in the housing at superatmospheric pressure an oxygen containing gas and said housing having an outlet means for releasing gas therefrom, means for passing blood into the inlet means of said tubes and out of the outlet means of said tubes and said tubes having at the inlet means thereto a check valve and having at the outlet means thereto a check valve whereby the blood in passing through the tubes is permitted to flow in only one direction, said housing outlet means including means for selectively alternatingly closing and opening said housing outlet means whereby the gas pressure in the housing is cyclically increased when the outlet means is closed and reduced when the outlet means is opened causing the tubes to be cyclically decreased in size so as to force oxygen enriched blood out of the tubes and cyclically returned to their normal size to cyclically draw low oxygen content blood into the tubes.

Claim 26

A heart-lung apparatus for transferring oxygen from a liquid to blood and for pumping said blood, comprising a multiplicity of resilient, flexible, gas pervious tubes disposed in a housing, which tubes under superatmospheric pressure are at least partially reduced in volume and which when the pressure is reduced substantially return to their previous size and shape, said housing containing a liquid which surrounds said tubes, said tubes having an inlet means for low oxygen content blood at one end thereof and outlet means for oxygen enriched blood at the other end thereof, the housing having an inlet means for introducing into the liquid in the housing at superatmospheric pressure an oxygen containing gas and said housing having an outlet means for releasing gas therefrom, means for passing blood into the inlet means of said tubes and out of the outlet means of said tubes and said tubes having at the inlet means thereto a check valve and having at the outlet means thereto a check valve whereby the blood in passing through the tubes is permitted to flow in only one direction, said housing outlet means including means for selectively alternatingly closing and opening said housing outlet means whereby the gas pressure in the housing is cyclically increased when the outlet means is closed and reduced when the outlet means is opened causing the tubes to be cyclically decreased in size so as to force oxygen enriched blood out of the tubes and cyclically returned to their normal size to cyclically draw low oxygen content blood into the tubes.

Claim 27

The lung-heart apparatus of claim 18 including heating means positioned adjacent the blood outlet means for heating the blood to about body temperature.

Claim 28

A heart-lung apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the liquid comprises a silicone oil.

Claim 29

A heart-lung apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the liquid comprises a fluorocarbon liquid.

Claim 30

A heart-lung apparatus according to claim 18 including means for subjecting the liquid in the housing to a pressure in excess of the pressure of the liquid in the tubes.