Patent ID: 8702638

Claim:
A method for controlling blood flow in a closed loop extracorporeal blood circulation system where blood is withdrawn and returned into a blood vessel in the same body in the process of treatment, the method comprising: a. withdrawing blood from a blood vessel of the patient at a controlled flow rate; b. measuring a withdrawal pressure of the withdrawn blood; c. infusing the withdrawn blood into the patient; d. measuring the infusion pressure of the blood; e. comparing the withdrawal pressure to a withdrawal pressure target, and comparing the infusion pressure to an infusion pressure target; f. adjusting the flow rate to reduce a difference between the withdrawal pressure and a withdrawal pressure target, in response to the infusion pressure being less than an infusion pressure target, and g. adjusting the flow rate to reduce a difference between the infusion pressure and an infusion pressure target, in response to the infusion pressure being greater than the infusion pressure target.