Device for oxygenating blood circulating in an extracorporeal circuit with a heat exchanger

Claim 1

A device for oxygenating blood circulating in an extracorporeal circuit, comprising a housing, a venous blood inlet manifold and an oxygen inlet manifold secured to said housing, a plurality of oxygenating modules each arranged between the interior of said manifolds and the interior of said housing, a blood and oxygen mixing chamber in said housing below said oxygenating modules and communicating therewith, a homogenizing filter in said mixing chamber, a heat exchanger in said housing below said homogenizing filter, an antifoaming filter generally surrounding said heat exchanger in said housing, an arterial blood collecting chamber in said housing, and arterial blood outlet fittings communicating with said arterial blood collecting chamber, wherein each of said oxygenating modules comprises at least one stub pipe extending substantially perpendicularly to said venous blood inlet manifold and directed into said mixing chamber, a shutter means for controlling communication between the interior of said at least one stub pipe and the interior of said venous blood inlet manifold, inclined through holes in said at least one stub pipe for providing communication between the interior of said at least one stub pipe and the interior of said oxygen inlet manifold, and wherein said shutter means comprises a plunger of elastic material slidable in contact with said at least one stub pipe inside thereof between a position in which communication of said at least one stub pipe with said manifolds is closed and a position in which the latter communication is open, and wherein plungers of stub pipes of a same oxygenating module have a common operating member operable from outside said housing for selectively operating said oxygenating modules thereby adapting the device to different blood flow rates while maintaining substantially a constant degree of oxygenation of the blood flowing through the device.

Claim 2

A device for oxygenating blood circulating in an extracorporeal circuit, comprising a housing, a venous blood inlet manifold and an oxygen inlet manifold secured to said housing, a plurality of oxygenating modules each arranged between the interior of said manifolds and the interior of said housing, a blood and oxygen mixing chamber in said housing below said oxygenating modules and communicating therewith, a homogenizing filter in said mixing chamber, a heat exchanger in said housing below said homogenizing filter, an antifoaming filter generally surrounding said heat exchanger in said housing, an arterial blood collecting chamber in said housing, and arterial blood outlet fittings communicating with said arterial blood collecting chamber, wherein each of said oxygenating modules comprises at least one stub pipe extending substantially perpendicularly to said venous blood inlet manifold and directed into said mixing chamber, a shutter means for controlling communication between the interior of said at least one stub pipe and the interior of said venous blood inlet manifold, inclined through holes in said at least one stub pipe for providing communication between the interior of said at least one stub pipe and the interior of said oxygen inlet manifold, and wherein said shutter means comprises a plunger of elastic material slidable in contact with said at least one stub pipe inside thereof between a position in which communication of said at least one stub pipe with said manifolds is closed and a position in which the latter communication is open, and wherein plungers of stub pipes of a same oxygenating module have a common operating member operable from outside said housing for selectively operating said oxygenating modules thereby adapting the device to different blood flow rates while maintaining substantially a constant degree of oxygenation of the blood flowing through the device.