Search

EP-3675929-B1 - METHOD FOR DYNAMIC PRESSURE CONTROL IN A FLUID INJECTOR SYSTEM

EP3675929B1EP 3675929 B1EP3675929 B1EP 3675929B1EP-3675929-B1

Inventors

  • BARONE, William
  • SPOHN, MICHAEL
  • MARSH, Chelsea
  • MCDERMOTT, MICHAEL
  • VOLKAR, JOHN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20180828

Claims (14)

  1. Fluid delivery apparatus with a controller configured to carry out a method for dynamic pressure control in a fluid delivery system (102) during a multiphase/multi-fluid injection, comprising: providing a multiphase fluid delivery system (102) comprising at least a first fluid reservoir (58a) configured for containing a first fluid, at least a second fluid reservoir (58b) configured for containing a second fluid, a fluid conduit (70) for conducting the first fluid from the first reservoir (58a) and the second fluid from the second reservoir (58b), and an injector (10) comprising at least a first drive member (119) for expelling the first fluid from the first reservoir (58a) and at least a second drive member (119) for expelling the second fluid from the second reservoir (58b); advancing the first drive member (119) to expel the first fluid from the first reservoir (58a) into the conduit (70) during a first injection phase, wherein the first fluid is pressurized to a first fluid pressure; measuring the first fluid pressure during the first injection phase to provide a target value, wherein the target value is based on the measured fluid pressure of the first fluid phase; while the second reservoir (58b) is in fluid isolation from the conduit (70), advancing or retracting the second drive member (119) to increase or decrease the fluid pressure of the second fluid in the second reservoir (58b) to the target value; placing the second reservoir (58b) in fluid communication with the conduit (70); and advancing the second drive member (119) to expel the second fluid from the second reservoir (58b) into the conduit (70) at a pressure equal to the target value, characterized in that each fluid reservoir (58a) is independently in selective fluid communication with the fluid conduit (70) by a respective valve (178, 180).
  2. The fluid delivery apparatus of claim 1, further comprising isolating the first reservoir (58a) from fluid communication with the conduit (70) prior to advancing the second drive member (119) to expel the second fluid from the second reservoir (58b) into the conduit (70).
  3. The fluid delivery apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the target value is substantially equal to the first fluid pressure.
  4. The fluid delivery apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the target value is greater than the first fluid pressure.
  5. The fluid delivery apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the target value is less than the first fluid pressure.
  6. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein advancing the second drive member (119) to expel the second fluid from the second reservoir (58b) further comprises continuing to advance the first drive member (119) to expel the first fluid from the first reservoir (58a) to provide a dual flow fluid delivery of a predetermined ratio of the first fluid and the second fluid.
  7. The fluid delivery apparatus of claim 6, further comprising adjusting the first fluid pressure and the second fluid pressure to provide the dual flow fluid delivery, wherein the predetermined ratio is a specified ratio ranging from 1 : 99 of the first fluid to the second fluid to 99 : 1 of the first fluid to the second fluid.
  8. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first fluid comprises an imaging contrast media and the second fluid comprises saline.
  9. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first fluid reservoir (58a) and the at least the second fluid reservoir (58b) are fluid reservoirs independently selected from the group consisting of a syringe, a peristaltic pump, and a compressible bag.
  10. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein at least one of the first fluid reservoir (58a) and the at least the second fluid reservoir (58b) is a syringe (12).
  11. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first fluid reservoir (58a) and the at least the second fluid reservoir (58b) are syringes (12).
  12. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising at least one third fluid reservoir (58c) in selectable fluid communication with the conduit (70) and operatively engaged with at least one third drive member (119) of the fluid injector (10) for expelling at least a third fluid into the conduit (70).
  13. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein each of the respective valves (178, 180) comprises a first, fill position wherein the fluid reservoir (58a, 58b) is in fluid communication with a fluid container but in fluid isolation with the conduit (70), a second, closed position wherein the fluid reservoir (58a, 58b) is in fluid isolation with the respective fluid container and the conduit (70), and a third, delivery position where the fluid reservoir (58a, 58b) is in fluid communication with the conduit (70) but in fluid isolation with the fluid container.
  14. The fluid delivery apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein each of the respective valves (178, 180) is operatively controlled by a processor (104) of the fluid injector (10).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates generally to fluid delivery systems and methods, and, in particular, to a system and method for performing an injection using a fluid delivery system with dynamic pressure control of two or more fluids during an injection protocol. Description of Related Art In many medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, a medical practitioner, such as a physician, injects a patient with one or more medical fluids. In recent years, a number of fluid delivery systems having injector-actuated syringes and fluid injectors for pressurized injection of fluids, such as a contrast solution (often referred to simply as "contrast"), a flushing agent, such as saline, and other medical fluids have been developed for use in procedures such as angiography, computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and other imaging procedures. In general, these fluid delivery systems are designed to deliver a preset amount of fluid at a desired flow rate. Typically, for a multiphase injection, fluid is delivered in a contrast phase followed by a saline flush phase. The contrast fluid provides enhancement to diagnostic images and the saline phase increases contrast flux and provides a sharp distinction with the contrast. US2006/079843 A1 discloses a dual head contrast media injection system which performs a patency check or test injection, determining flow rate and/or flow volume from the programmed protocol. The tubing that connects syringes to a patient shares only a short common section near to the patient. Appropriate injection steps are taken to compensate for tubing elasticity. A wireless remote control and a touch screen control are provided, improving functionality and information delivery. US2010/222768 A1 discloses a method of capacitance volume correction in fluid-containing expandable bodies and associated fluid pathways for application in fluid delivery systems used to supply fluids to patients during radiographic imaging procedures including angiography. One embodiment is directed to a method of controlling delivery of fluid to a downstream process, including providing a fluid-containing expandable body, including a pressurizing element and in fluid communication with the downstream process, pressurizing the expandable body by moving the pressurizing element forward in the expandable body to reduce volume therein, and ceasing movement of the pressurizing element after allowing the pressurizing element to over-travel a sufficient distance to compensate for expansion of the expandable body underpressure. The expandable body may be a syringe and the pressurizing element may be a plunger disposed within the syringe. Movement of the pressurizing element is controlled by an algorithm associated with a computer. Differences between desired flow rate and fluid volume may be especially apparent for multiphase injections, in which two or more fluids are delivered from two or more syringes which are independently driven by a drive member of a fluid injector in a sequential fashion. Therefore, when performing a multiphase injection, it is important to consider the manner in which the fluid for the two phases is contained. If the fluid reservoirs or syringes are connected in an open system then the pressure in the two fluid locations is expected to be roughly the same during an injection due to fluid communication between the two or more syringes. However, in an open system containing two reservoirs or syringes, development of pressure in the reservoir or syringe containing the first fluid may result in fluid movement from the first reservoir to the second reservoir or syringe depending on the system compliance. This may result in unintended mixing. Such mixing may be permissible for single patient systems; however, cross contamination of the fluid reservoirs may be unacceptable for multi-patient devices. To isolate the multiple fluid reservoirs and prevent mixing, fluid delivery systems can be constructed using a valve, such as a check valve, stopcock, or fluid manifold, to isolate respective fluid reservoirs and/or syringes. Isolating the fluid reservoirs prevents passive cross contamination of the fluid reservoirs. However, isolating fluid reservoirs can reduce or cause fluctuations in actual flow rate through a fluid delivery system in the absence of any correction or compensation. For example, actual fluid flow rates may be reduced because the second or saline fluid must be driven through the system with enough pressure to drive the first phase and to remove any slack introduced into the system during the first phase of the injection. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems for monitoring and controlling fluid flow rate through a fluid delivery system including multiple syringes or fluid reservoirs. For example, such systems may address problems of controlling