EP0164025A2
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EP
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Hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator and method for manufacturing same
Assignee: Terumo Corp
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Filing: 1985-05-22
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-05-22
Abstract
Abstract A hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator is provided wherein a bundle of a plurality of hollow porous fibers presenting gas exchange membranes axially extends through a housing to define a first flow path for oxygen, a pair of partition support the opposed open ends of the hollow fibers to Isolate the open ends from the first flow path to define a second flow path through the fiber cavities for blood, and the micropores in the hollow fibers are filled with a silicone compound, for example, a RTV silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil while the hollow fibers on their side wall are substantially free of a layer of the silicone compound. The oxygenator is manufactured by prefabricating an oxygenator module of the above-mentioned construction, impregnating the hollow fibers with a solution of the silicone compound, and passing a cleaning liquid to remove excessive silicone compound, thereby filling only the micropores with the silicone compound.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiromichi Fukasawa
- 👤 Yoshiro Katsura
- 👤 Kazuhiko Hagiwara
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 19:09
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01D; B01D61/00; B01D61/38; B01D69/00; B01D69/14; B01D69/141; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S128/00; Y10S128/03; Y10S261/00; Y10S261/28
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
159 words
A hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of gas-exchange hollow fiber membranes axially extending through the housing, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, characterized in that each said hollow fiber membrane has a plurality of micropores extending throughout the membrane, the micropores are filled with a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil, but the hollow fiber membrane is substantially free of a layer of said silicone compound on its side wall.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
159 words
A hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of gas-exchange hollow fiber membranes axially extending through the housing, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, characterized in that each said hollow fiber membrane has a plurality of micropores extending throughout the membrane, the micropores are filled with a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil, but the hollow fiber membrane is substantially free of a layer of said silicone compound on its side wall.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 1 wherein said silicone compound is a blend of a silicone rubber and a silicone oil in a weight ratio between 2:8 and 8:2.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 1 wherein said silicone rubber is a room temperature vulcanizable silica-free silicone rubber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 2 wherein said room temperature vulcanizable silica-free silicone rubber is a polymer of vinylmethylsiloxane units and methylhydrogensiloxane units.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 2 wherein said silicone oil is dimethyl or methylphenyl silicone oil.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
145 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 1 wherein each said hollow fiber membrane comprises a hollow porous fiber substrate having an inner diameter of 100 to 1,000 um, a wall thickness of 5 to 200 um, an average pore diameter of 0.01 to 5 um, and a porosity of 20 to 80%, the micropores in the fibers are substantially filled with a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil, and the oxygen flow rate, 02 Flux, represented by the following equation: a2 Flux = Q/ΔP x A) is within the range from 1.0 to 50 ml/min·m 2 ·mmHg, wherein Q is a volume of oxygen permeated through the membrane expressed in ml/min., ΔP is a pressure drop across the membrane expressed in mmHg, and A is the surface area of the membrane expressed in m 2 .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 6 wherein said silicone compound is a blend of a silicone rubber and a silicone oil in a weight ratio between 2:8 and 8:2.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 6 wherein said silicone rubber is a room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 8 wherein said room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber is a polymer of vinylmethylsiloxane units and methylhydrogensiloxane units.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
144 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 1 wherein each said hollow fiber membrane comprises a hollow porous fiber substrate having an inner diameter of 100 to 1,000 µm, a wall thickness of 5 to 200 um, an average pore diameter of 0.01 to 5 um, and a porosity of 20 to 80%, the micropores in the fibers are substantially filled with a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil, and the weight SW of the silicone compound filled in the fiber membrane micropores is within the following range: (D 2 - D 2)·L·P·d·0.3 SW≤ (D 0 2 - D )·L·P·d·0.9 with the proviso that the hollow fiber has an outer diameter D 0 , an inner diameter D 1 , a length L, and a porosity P, and the silicone compound has a specific gravity d.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 10 wherein said silicone compound is a blend of a silicone rubber and a silicone oil in a weight ratio between 2:8 and 8:2.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 10 wherein said silicone rubber is a room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator according to claim 12 wherein said room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber is a polymer of vinylmethylsiloxane units and methylhydrogensiloxane units.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
193 words
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator, comprising the steps of (1) assembling an oxygenator module comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of hollow microporous fiber substrates axially extending through the housing and presenting a corresponding plurality of microporous gas exchange membranes, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the open fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, (2) introducing a solution of a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil in a suitable solvent into the interior space of the hollow fiber substrates for impregnation, and (3) thereafter, passing through the module a cleaning liquid comprising a non-solvent for the silicone compound and the solvent, thereby filling the hollow fiber substrate micropores with the silicone compound.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
193 words
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator, comprising the steps of (1) assembling an oxygenator module comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of hollow microporous fiber substrates axially extending through the housing and presenting a corresponding plurality of microporous gas exchange membranes, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the open fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, (2) introducing a solution of a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil in a suitable solvent into the interior space of the hollow fiber substrates for impregnation, and (3) thereafter, passing through the module a cleaning liquid comprising a non-solvent for the silicone compound and the solvent, thereby filling the hollow fiber substrate micropores with the silicone compound.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator manufacturing method according to claim 14 wherein the cleaning liquid has a viscosity of at least 10 centipoise at room temperature.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator manufacturing method according to claim 14 wherein said silicone compound is a blend of a silicone rubber and a silicone oil in a weight ratio between 2:8 and 8:2.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator manufacturing method according to claim 14 wherein said silicone rubber is a room temperature vulcanizable silicone rubber.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
263 words
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator, comprising the steps of (1) assembling an oxygenator module comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of hollow microporous fiber substrates axially extending through the housing and presenting a corresponding plurality of microporous gas exchange membranes, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the open fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, (2) filling one of said first and second fluid chambers with a filling liquid in which the silicone compound and the solvent are incompatible and which has a higher surface tension than the critical surface tension of said hollow fiber substrate, (3) introducing a solution of a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil in a suitable solvent into the remaining fluid chamber for impregnation of the substrates while said one fluid chamber is full of the filling liquid, ( 4 ) purging the module of excessive silicone compound solution, (5) passing a cleaning liquid comprising a non-solvent for the silicone compound and the solvent through the module, and (6) purging the module of the cleaning liquid, thereby filling the hollow fiber substrate micropores substantially with the silicone compound.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
263 words
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane type oxygenator, comprising the steps of (1) assembling an oxygenator module comprising a housing, a bundle of a plurality of hollow microporous fiber substrates axially extending through the housing and presenting a corresponding plurality of microporous gas exchange membranes, a first fluid chamber defined by the outer surface of said hollow fibers and the inner surface of said housing, a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet both in fluid communication with said first fluid chamber, a partition supporting either end of said hollow fibers and isolating the open fiber end from said first fluid chamber, and a second fluid inlet and a second fluid outlet both in fluid communication with the interior space of said hollow fibers, (2) filling one of said first and second fluid chambers with a filling liquid in which the silicone compound and the solvent are incompatible and which has a higher surface tension than the critical surface tension of said hollow fiber substrate, (3) introducing a solution of a silicone compound comprising a silicone rubber or a blend thereof with a silicone oil in a suitable solvent into the remaining fluid chamber for impregnation of the substrates while said one fluid chamber is full of the filling liquid, ( 4 ) purging the module of excessive silicone compound solution, (5) passing a cleaning liquid comprising a non-solvent for the silicone compound and the solvent through the module, and (6) purging the module of the cleaning liquid, thereby filling the hollow fiber substrate micropores substantially with the silicone compound.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator manufacturing method according to claim 18 wherein said first fluid chamber is filled with the filling liquid.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
A hollow fiber oxygenator manufacturing method according to claim 18 wherein said filling liquid is selected from the group consisting of water, glycerine, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, aqueous ethanol, and aqueous isopropyl alcohol, and mixtures thereof.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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