Haemodialyzer employing hollow fibers

Claim 1

A haemodialyzer which comprises: (a) a housing having a top and bottom face connected by a sidewall structure, (1) said top and bottom face each having respective openings with the center axes lateraly staggered from each other, (2) a lower portion of said housing including said bottom face and part of said sidewall structure, having a dialyzate intake which opens inside the housing to release the dialyzate into a passage defined by the inner face of the housing, (3) an upper portion of said housing, including said top face and part of said sidewall structure, having a dialyzate exit for colledting the dialyzate to flow out of the housing, (4) said dialyzate intake and exit being in a positional relation that they locate on the opposite sides of a line connecting said openings of top and bottom face of the housing; (b) a vast plurality of semi-permeable hollow fibers substantially equal in length, and gathered and bonded at their both end portions to form a bundle, the bundle of hollow fibers being fixedly held, at its both ends, in liquid-tight connection, in the openings of the top and bottom face of the housing, respectively, and disposed, with surplus in length with respect to the distance in straight line between the opening of the top face and the opening of the bottom face, in the passage defined by the inner face of the housing so that the hollow fibers each form a line continually descending from said opening of the top face to said opening of the bottom face, while spacingly spreading to expand the bundle, intermediate the ends, in its lateral direction; and (c) an inlet and outlet for blood formed in association with the respective end portions of the fiber bundle.