Patent ID: 7402278
Filing Date: 2008-07-22
Classification: A61J,A61M,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In an operating room where an extracorporial blood circulation system including hemo-concentrator is used on a patient in a surgical field to introduce externally processed blood into the patient through an arterial cannula and to remove blood from the patient through a venous cannula, a method of recapturing the patient's blood from the system after the arterial cannula and venous cannula have been removed from the patient, comprising: (a) connecting said hemo-concentrator having an inlet port and an outlet port to the system such that while the arterial cannula and venous cannula are connected to the patient a pair of inlet tubes is fluidly connected to the inlet port and a pair of outlet tubes is fluidly connected to the outlet port, wherein one inlet tube and one outlet tube are clamped to prevent flow therethrough, the other inlet tube receives blood from one portion of the system and delivers the blood to the hemo-concentrator, and the other outlet tube receives hemo-concentrated blood and delivers the hemo-concentrated blood to another portion of the system; (b) after the arterial cannula and venous cannula have been removed from the patient, transferring at least most of the blood in the system into a sterile bag located in the surgical field; (c) removing the bag with blood from the surgical field; (d) isolating said other inlet tube and said other outlet tube from fluid flow in the system; (e) fluidly connecting said one inlet tube to the bag and fluidly connecting said one outlet tube to the bag; and (f) unclamping said one inlet tube and said one outlet tube and recirculating the blood in the bag through the said inlet tube, the hemo-concentrator, said one outlet tube and the bag, thereby hemoconcentrating the blood in the bag.