CFDRC Receives US Patent for Double-Lumen Catheter for Hemodialysis
Catheter to Benefit Patients with Kidney Disease and Disorders by Increasing Comfort Levels
Huntsville, AL, July 24, 2002 – CFD Research Corporation (CFDRC) announced today the receipt of Patent No. US 6,409,700 B1 for the CFDRC Double-Lumen Venous Catheter for Hemodialysis. The catheter was designed and tested at the Biofluidics Laboratory of CFDRC and clinical trials are planned to be conducted. The new catheter performs better than other catheters currently available on the market by allowing higher flow rates and reduced suction pressure.
Benefits to dialysis patients will include a shorter therapeutic time with an increased comfort level. Patients will need to spend less time at the hospital receiving treatments because the catheter can operate at a higher flow rate. Comfort during the treatment will increase due to the lessened effect of suction pressure. Suction pressure is an important indicator to nephrologists in showing vein/catheter lumen collapse or lumen/vein blockage due to thrombosis.
Ashok Singhal, president of CFDRC, comments: “After recently receiving a patent for an optimized fuel nozzle for aircraft engines, this new patent and the enhanced catheter design is another demonstration of the outstanding competency of CFDRC’s research branches.”
The CFDRC catheter can be operated under higher flow rates with lower suction pressure compared to other currently available models. It operates with minimal access recirculation, and shows a linear variation of threshold venous flow rate with respect to the catheter flow rate. This ideal behavior is consistent over a wide range of flow rates, from 150-580 ml/min. Experimental studies have shown that the CFDRC catheter is non-hemolytic, releasing less than 2% of hemoglobin, which falls well beneath the FDA criterion of 5%.
The design has been facilitated through the extensive use of computerized simulations using CFD-ACE+, CFDRC’s advanced engineering simulation software. Says Dr. Krishnamoorthy: “CFD-ACE+ has given us the opportunity to analyze and understand the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. The ability to run parametric studies significantly helped us to achieve this optimized design that in the future will allow thousands of patients to receive their treatments faster and more comfortably.”
This technology has been developed under a SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) project funded by the National Institutes of Health and CFDRC’s Internal Research and Development.
About CFD Research Corporation
CFDRC is a technology leader in advanced multiphysics and multidisciplinary simulation software and research. The company’s CFD-ACE+ product line and related services allow users to significantly reduce design time and expenses through comprehensive up-front simulations. The main industries served are semiconductors, MEMS, BioMEMS, medical devices, fuel cells, automotive, and aerospace. CFDRC also offers CFD-FASTRAN, the leading compressible flows software for high-speed aerodynamics and multiple moving bodies analysis.
CFDRC’s extensive research in advancement of numerical methods, physical models and new concepts under contracts sponsored by government agencies and industry guarantees to sustain its technology leadership role.
CFDRC has over 130 employees (over 75 PhDs) and is headquartered in Huntsville, AL with branch offices in Sunnyvale, CA and Stuttgart, Germany. Worldwide representation is provided through a network of distributors. For more information visit our website at www.cfdrc.com.
