Patent ID: 7481931

Claim:
A machine for cleaning and qualifying a dialysis filter comprising a first dialysate compartment having a first connecting tip and a second connecting tip, and a second blood compartment comprising two conduits that are joined at first and second extremities of the second blood compartment, the first dialysate compartment and the second blood compartment being separated by an ultrafiltration membrane that is liquid-permeable but not air-permeable located inside the filter, wherein the machine comprises a first rinse circuit comprising the first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ), the first connecting tip ( 13 ) connected to a lower portion of the first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ) and the second connecting tip ( 15 ) connected to an upper portion of the first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ); a second rinse circuit comprising the second blood compartment ( 100 b ) and the two conduits ( 17 a and 17 b ) joined at the first and second extremities of the second blood compartment ( 100 b ), the second rinse circuit is totally independent of the first rinse circuit; a first means for supplying exclusively the first rinse circuit with a cleaning and disinfecting liquid injected through the first tip ( 13 ) connected to the lower portion of the first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ); a second means for exclusively supplying the second rinse circuit with the cleaning and disinfecting liquid from the first rinse circuit, said second means being an ultrafiltration membrane ( 110 ) that is liquid-permeable but not air-permeable and said cleaning and disinfecting liquid flowing through said ultrafiltration membrane by untrafiltration; and a qualifying means to determine the ultrafiltration rate of the ultrafiltration membrane ( 110 ) that is liquid-permeable but not air-permeable comprising means of generating lowered pressure in said first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ) by the second connecting tip ( 15 ) connected to the upper portion of the first dialysate compartment ( 100 a ) so as to suction at least a quantity of liquid essentially equivalent to the liquid contained in the second blood compartment ( 100 b ) by ultrafiltration through the ultrafiltration membrane ( 110 ) that is liquid-permeable but not air-permeable, and means for determining a slope of a curve of the quantity of liquid suctioned as a function of time, and the two conduits ( 17 a and 17 b ), joined at the first and the second extremities of the second compartment ( 100 b ), are respectively associated with two throttle valves ( 17 d and 17 c ) and respectively flow into recovery containers ( 18 a , 18 b , respectively) for direct removal of contaminated cleaning and disinfecting liquid from the second blood compartment ( 100 b ).