Influence of design of the hemodialyzer inlet chamber on red blood cell damage during hemodialysis.

Red blood cell damage occurring in the inlet chamber of a hollow fiber dialyzer was investigated by using a simplified model assembly. To vary the geometry of the inlet chamber, four parameters were used in this study, including the entrance angle, the chamber length, the convergence ratio, and the number of holes. The degree of red blood cell damage was represented by the hemolysis ratio. The results show that the hemolysis ratio was affected mostly by the chamber length and the convergence ratio, and less affected by the entrance angle and number of holes. The hemolysis ratio was the lowest when the chamber length was 2 mm and the entrance angle was 15 degrees. In addition, the hemolysis ratio decreased with the convergence ratio. Because the hemolysis ratio was only slightly affected by the number of holes and the flow channel length, the experimental results of this simplified assembly can be used to improve the design of an actual inlet chamber.