Heat exchanger and blood oxygenating device furnished therewith

Claim 2

A heat exchanger comprising (1) a housing, (2) a bundle of hollow fibers made of an organic polymer, said bundle of hollow fibers being supported and packed within said housing so as to be fluid-tight at both ends thereof, (3) a heat exchange chamber formed on the outside of said hollow fibers, and (4) a fluid inlet chamber and a fluid outlet chamber provided at the respective ends of said bundle of hollow fibers in such a way as to communicate with the bores of said hollow fibers.

Claim 3

The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein said hollow fibers have an internal diameter of 50 to 1,000 pm and a wall thickness of 2 to 200 pm.

Claim 4

The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein said hollow fibers have an internal diameter of 150 to 500 µm and a wall thickness of 10 to 100 µm.

Claim 5

A blood oxygenating device having a heat exchange section for controlling the temperature of blood and a gas exchange section for effecting the gas exchange of blood, characterized in that (1) said heat exchange section contains a.bundle of hollow fibers made of an organic polymer as the heat transfer member, said bundle of hollow fibers being supported and packed in said heat exchange section so as to be fluid-tight at both ends thereof and (2) a fluid inlet chamber and a fluid outlet chamber are provided at the respective ends of said bundle of hollow fibers in such a way as to communicate with the bores of said hollow fibers.

Claim 6

A blood oxygenating device having a heat exchange section for controlling the temperature of blood and a gas exchange section for effecting the gas exchange of blood, characterized in that (1) said heat exchange section contains a.bundle of hollow fibers made of an organic polymer as the heat transfer member, said bundle of hollow fibers being supported and packed in said heat exchange section so as to be fluid-tight at both ends thereof and (2) a fluid inlet chamber and a fluid outlet chamber are provided at the respective ends of said bundle of hollow fibers in such a way as to communicate with the bores of said hollow fibers.

Claim 7

The blood oxygenating device of claim 4 where said hollow fibers have an internal diameter of 50 to 1,000 µm and a wall thickness of 2 to 200 µm.

Claim 8

A blood oxygenator of the hollow fiber membrane type having a heat exchanger incorporated thereinto, which comprises (1) a housing having a blood inlet, a blood outlet, a gas inlet, a gas outlet, a heat exchange medium inlet and a heat exchange medium outlet and defining therein a contact chamber, said contact chamber comprising blood flow channels narrowed by baffles and a plurality of compartments separated by said blood flow channels (2) a first bundle or bundles of hollow fibers consisting of a large number of hollow fibers for use in gas exchange and having fixed ends, and (3) a second bundle on bundles of hollow fibers consisting of a large number of hollow fibers for use in heat exchange and having fixed ends, said first and second bundles of hollow fibers being disposed in separate compartments so as to be substantially parallel to said baffles, the respective ends of said first bundle of hollow fibers communicating with said gas inlet and said gas outlet and the respective ends of said second bundle of hollow fibers communicating with said heat exchange medium inlet and said heat exchange medium outlet.

Claim 9

A blood oxygenator of the hollow fiber membrane type having a heat exchanger incorporated thereinto, which comprises (1) a housing having a blood inlet, a blood outlet, a gas inlet, a gas outlet, a heat exchange medium inlet and a heat exchange medium outlet and defining therein a contact chamber, said contact chamber comprising blood flow channels narrowed by baffles and a plurality of compartments separated by said blood flow channels (2) a first bundle or bundles of hollow fibers consisting of a large number of hollow fibers for use in gas exchange and having fixed ends, and (3) a second bundle on bundles of hollow fibers consisting of a large number of hollow fibers for use in heat exchange and having fixed ends, said first and second bundles of hollow fibers being disposed in separate compartments so as to be substantially parallel to said baffles, the respective ends of said first bundle of hollow fibers communicating with said gas inlet and said gas outlet and the respective ends of said second bundle of hollow fibers communicating with said heat exchange medium inlet and said heat exchange medium outlet.

Claim 10

The blood oxygenator of claim 6 wherein said hollow fibers for use in heat exchange have an internal diameter of 5 to 1,000 µm and a wall thickness of 2 to 200 pm.