Patent ID: 11918720
Assignee: NXSTAGE MEDICAL, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 5:
6. A method of performing blood treatments, comprising:
at a first time, connecting a first fluid circuit to, and performing a first blood treatment by operating a machine that includes at least two pumps, a first pump of the at least two pumps conveying blood through a first pumping tube segment of the first fluid circuit, a second pump of the at least two pumps conveying a fluid that includes one of replacement fluid, dialysate, anti-coagulant, and spent dialysate through a second pumping tube segment of the first fluid circuit;
at a second time, connecting a second fluid circuit that has a different configuration from the first fluid circuit, to the machine, and performing a blood oxygenation treatment by the machine using the second fluid circuit, wherein
the blood oxygenation treatment includes pumping the blood from an arterial access connector in parallel flow paths using the at least two pumps to a blood oxygenator, the first pump conveying a first portion of the blood through a first pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit, the first pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit connected to a first junction and also connected to a second junction, the second pump conveying a second portion of the blood through a second pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit, the second pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit connected to the first junction and also connected to the second junction, and
wherein the blood that enters the second fluid circuit from the arterial access connector splits at the first junction into the first portion of the blood that flows through the first pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit and the second portion of the blood that flows through the second pumping tube segment of the second fluid circuit, and
the first portion of the blood and the second portion of the blood combine into a combined blood stream at the second junction.