DIALYSATE PRESSURE ISOBARS IN A HOLLOW-FIBER DIALYZER DETERMINED FROMMAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING AND NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF DIALYSATE FLOW

A procedure to determine dialysate pressure isobars by comparing the r esults of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and numerical simulation of the dialysate flow was established. The assumption used in the filtra tion analyses, that the dialysate pressure varies only in the central- axial direction, is supported by the finding that the determined isoba rs have no steep radial gradient. MRI of the contrast solution permeat ing the hallow fibers verifies the uniformity of the hollow fiber dens ity in the dialyzer.