Apparatus and method for therapeutic immunodepletion

摘要

A therapeutic apparatus for the removal of a harmful agent from blood is provided in the form of an array of hollow fiber bundles connected in parallel, wherein the interior surfaces of the individual hollow fibers are coated with a covalently bound proteinaceous or other immunoadsorbent selected for specific removal of the harmful agent. In the disclosed method the apparatus is optionally connected as an extracorporeal shunt between the artery and vein of a patient to be treated and the blood is alternately routed through one fiber bundle while the remaining fiber bundles undergo regeneration. Specific embodiments include the removal of rheumatoid factor by covalently bound immunoglobulin G and the removal of digoxin by covalently bound anti-digoxin.