A Disposable Peristaltic Pump Set for Wearable Artificial Kidney

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on development and evaluation of newly designed peristaltic pump which is integration of three pumps into one pump set. As need of wearable artificial kidney (WAK) emerged due to increasing population of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and discomfort induced by dialysis treatment, pumps for dialysis treatment have been developed. Those pumps show good performance such as pressure and flow rate however, those are too heavy and big to mount in WAK. Also, energy consumption and complication in exchange are limit. Therefore, this dissertation suggest newly designed pump set is made for WAK. Especially to meet specifications required for use in WAK, bevel gears were implemented to minimize size of the pump and housings are 3D printed with light material. Mass of the manufactured pump is 250g and volume is only 175cm3. In order to evaluate performance of the pump, several tests were conducted. First, endurance test of tube for the pump was performed. The test was conducted for 12 hours. Flow rate gradually increased in first 3 hours, and then in interval of 9-12 hours the flow rate almost converged. Next, performance tests were proceeded changing types of motors with different gear ratio. Two motors which have relatively small torque with gear ratio of 1/128, 1/316 result in flow rates of 14.3 to 21ml/min and 5.11 to 10.21ml/min each. The other motor that has large torque with gear ratio of 1/157 achieved flow rate of 8.8 to 25.5ml/min. Lastly, the pump was set to circulate CRRT circuit in continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) program and successfully circulated water as planned. Through those tests, potential of the pump for renal treatment is proved. Even though relatively low flow rates is its limitation, the size, weight, energy consumption and disposability make the pump suitable for WAK and further optimization will make the pump more powerful.