FAQ - Plasmaflo™ Technology

What is plasmapheresis membrane technology?

Unlike centrifugal separation of plasma, membrane systems employ a highly porous plasma separator to separate plasma, excluding platelets, from whole blood. This method works by passing the blood through a membrane with pores so small that only the fluid part of the blood can pass through. The cells are returned to the person undergoing treatment, while the plasma, which contains the antibodies, is discarded and replaced with other fluids such as albumin or FFP (fresh frozen plasma).

What is the hollow fiber plasma separator manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical?

This plasma separator (The Plasmaflo™ Model AP-05H[L]), available in the US, is a dedicated hollow fiber device for performing TPE.

What are the characteristics of the Plasmaflo™ Model AP-05H[L]?

The Plasmaflo™ plasma separator is a hollow fiber membrane separator made of cellulose-di-Acetate. It has a priming volume of 65 ml with a 0.5 m2 surface area. Maximum pore size is 0.2 µm which allows for a molecular weight clearance of up to 3 million daltons. The device is sterilized with ethylene oxide and packed in glycerin to maintain a shelf life of 3 years.

What is the molecular weight clearance of membrane technology?

The molecular weight clearance is 3 million daltons. For comparison, urea has a molecular weight of 60 daltons and creatinine has a molecular weight of 113 daltons. Electrolytes are very small molecules. The "middle molecules" of hemodialysis have molecular weights of 3000 to 5000 daltons. The molecular weight clearance of conventional cuprophan dialyzers is approximately 10,000 daltons. High flux dialyzers clear molecules up to 50,000 daltons. Albumin has a weight of 69,000 daltons. Immune complexes, antibodies and immunoglobins have molecular weights in excess of 1 million daltons.

How is the Plasmaflo™ used?

The extracorporeal blood circuit is very similar to a hemodialysis circuit: consisting of an arterial (red) line with an expansion chamber and a venous (blue) line with a venous drip chamber. In addition to those two lines, a fluid replacement line, plasma discard line and pressure monitoring line will also be utilized. The venous blood line has a "T" fitting which connects to the fluid replacement line, feeding into the venous drip chamber.

The Plasmaflo™ hollow fiber plasma filter fits in the same bracket as most standard hemodialyzer filters. A discard bag for the filtered plasma completes the setup. It is recommended that the blood pump used, be able to measure the transmembrane pressure of the Plasmaflo™ and be capable of air detection.

Why is a secondary Dual Track Pump recommended?

The second pump is needed to control the removal of plasma and the simultaneous infusion of replacement fluid at the same rate. The goal is to keep most patients euvolemic during the plasma exchange treatment.

Can you use a dialysis tubeset?

We recommend that you use an ATI Plasmapheresis tubeset because it contains the necessary components, including the additional discard lines and infusion tubing sets.

Note: These are general considerations and not all-encompassing. Please read all device instructions and consult with a physician prior to determining if TPE is beneficial to your patient.