Patent ID: 7645253

Claim:
A portable, wearable ultrafiltration device comprising: a blood inlet for receiving blood flow from a patient; a pulsatile blood pump connected to the blood inlet, the pulsatile pump configured to pump blood from the patient in a pulsatile manner through the ultrafiltration device at a flow rate between 10 and 70 ml/min.; a blood filter for filtering excess body fluid from said blood, the blood filter including a filter inlet connected to the pulsatile blood pump and a fixed semiporous filter material having a first surface in contact with the patient's blood and a second surface on which fluid from the patient's blood is received, the pulsatile pump pumping the patient's blood to and through the filter with sufficient pressure to force fluid from the blood through the semiporous filter material, the blood filter having a blood side and a fluid side configured so that the only fluid on the fluid side of the blood filter is fluid separated from the blood passing through the blood side of the blood filter, the rate of fluid separation from the blood is configured to be adjusted by a combination of the flow rate being between 10 and 70 ml/min and by variably controlling a continuous fluid flow from the blood filter; a blood outlet connected to the blood filter, the blood outlet receiving blood from the blood filter and conducting the blood back to the patient; and a fluid bladder including a bladder inlet connected to the fluid side of the blood filter, the fluid bladder receiving and collecting fluid from the fluid side of the blood filter, the wearable ultrafiltration device constructed and configured to operate while in various three-dimensional orientations on the body of the patient.