BUBBLE TRAP

Typical Number in Hospital:

Cost Bands:

References: 3,9

When blood must be drawn from the body and then returned to it, bubbles of air may develop due to leaks, pressure changes in the circuit, or arising from the oxygenation process in a heart- lung machine.

The purpose of a bubble trap is to allow these bubbles to rise in a special chamber from which the blood leaves at the bottom. In haemodialysis special alarm circuitry is linked either to a blood level detector to identify when the air removed from the circuit displaces the blood downwards below an acceptable level, or there may be an optical or ultrasonic detector to show when bubbles are passing back to the patient.

The bubble trap is normally part of the disposable tubing set used for the procedure.