Patent ID: 7758563

Claim:
A method of addressing contrast induced nephropathy, the method comprising: injecting a contrast agent into a patient; imaging the patient; and injecting a diuretic into the patient to induce diuresis; and further inducing diuresis to drive any contrast agent through the patient's kidneys to reduce its toxic effects on the kidneys and prevent damage to the kidneys by: setting a desired fluid balance, collecting urine expelled by the patient in a urine collection bag, weighing the urine collection bag, determining, based on the weight of the urine collection bag, when the patient has expelled a predetermined amount of urine, after the predetermined amount of urine has been expelled by the patient, employing a pump to infuse the patient with fluid from a fluid source, weighing the fluid source to provide an indication regarding the amount of fluid infused into the patient, and automatically adjusting the pump based on the set desired fluid balance, the weight of the urine collection bag, and the weight of the fluid source and controlling the amount of fluid infused into the patient based on the amount of urine expelled by the patient, determining if a bolus amount of infusion fluid is required for the patient in addition to the fluid infused to achieve the desired fluid balance, and if a bolus amount was set, automatically controlling the pump to infuse the set bolus amount into the patient.