Filter device

Abstract

A filter device (10) according to the present invention is attached to a centrifugal separator (50). The filter device comprises: a first space (18) into which blood flows; a second space (20) from which blood flows out; a partition wall (22) that separates the first space and the second space; a communication port (28) through which the first space and the second space are in communication; and a leukocyte removal filter (24) that is disposed in the second space. The second space is positioned between the first space and the rotation center (LA) of the centrifugal separator.

Description

Filter Device

[0001] The present invention relates to a filter device.

[0002] Japanese Patent No. 5223006 describes a blood bag system and a centrifugal separator. The blood bag system contains blood. The centrifuge separates the blood contained in the blood bag system. The centrifugal separator separates the blood. The separated blood is used for transfusion.

[0003] Patent No. 5223006

[0004] It is preferable that blood to be transfused does not contain white blood cells. Recently, there has been a demand for a filter device that can more effectively remove white blood cells.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] (1) One aspect of the present invention is a filter device to be attached to a centrifuge, comprising: a first space formed within a housing into which blood flows in via an inlet; a second space formed within the housing into which blood flows out via an outlet; a partition wall separating the first space from the second space; a communication port connecting the first space to the second space; and a leukocyte removal filter disposed within the second space that removes leukocytes contained in the blood, wherein the second space is located between the first space and the center of rotation of the centrifuge.

[0007] This allows for the effective removal of leukocytes from the blood.

[0008] (2) In the filter device described in (1) above, the inlet may be located on one side of the first space in a first direction that intersects with the centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied, and the communication port may be located on the other side of the first space in the first direction.

[0009] This makes it possible to prevent blood that has not been subjected to leukocyte removal by centrifugation from reaching the second space.

[0010] (3) In the filter device described in (1) or (2) above, the outlet may be located on one side of the second space in the first direction, and the communication port may be located on the other side of the second space in the first direction.

[0011] This allows the leukocyte removal filter to more reliably remove leukocytes.

[0012] (4) In the filter device described in any one of (1) to (3) above, the first space may be provided with a guide wall that guides the blood flowing in through the inlet in a centrifugal direction, which is the direction in which centrifugal force is applied.

[0013] This makes it possible to prevent blood that has not been subjected to leukocyte removal by centrifugation from reaching the second space.

[0014] (5) In the filter device described in (4) above, the inlet and the communication port may be located on one side of the first space in a first direction that intersects with the centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied.

[0015] This makes it possible to further prevent blood that has not been subjected to leukocyte removal by centrifugation from reaching the second space.

[0016] (6) In the filter device described in (5) above, the communication port may be located on one side of the second space in the first direction, and the outlet may be located on the other side of the second space in the first direction.

[0017] This allows the leukocyte removal filter to more reliably remove leukocytes.

[0018] (7) In the filter device described in any one of (1) to (6) above, the first space may be provided with a curved wall, and the inlet and the communication port may be located between the center of rotation of the centrifuge and the curved wall.

[0019] This prevents blood from flowing back toward the inlet.

[0020] (8) In the filter device described in any one of (1) to (7) above, an inlet flow path extending from the inlet to the first space and separated from the second space may be formed within the housing, and the inlet flow path may extend along the centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied.

[0021] This allows the blood to smoothly flow into the first space while being subjected to centrifugal force.

[0022] According to the present invention, it is possible to preferably remove leukocytes.

[0023] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a centrifuge to which a filter device according to one embodiment is attached. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the filter device. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the filter device. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the internal structure of a filter device according to a modified example.

[0024] [One embodiment] A filter device according to one embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a centrifuge 50 to which a filter device 10 according to this embodiment is attached. Fig. 1 shows the filter device 10, an insert unit 60, and the centrifuge 50.

[0025] The centrifuge 50 is a machine that performs centrifugal separation on blood. The centrifuge 50 includes a centrifugal drum 52. The centrifugal drum 52 includes a central body 52a and a plurality of unit insertion portions 52b.

[0026] The plurality of unit insertion sections 52b are arranged to surround the central body 52a. An insert unit 60 can be inserted into each of the plurality of unit insertion sections 52b. The insert unit 60 is attached to the centrifuge 50 by being inserted into the unit insertion section 52b.

[0027] The insert unit 60 houses a blood bag system (not shown). The blood bag system includes a blood bag containing blood before centrifuging. The blood contained in this blood bag is, for example, whole blood, but it may also be a buffy coat as described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent No. 5223006. The buffy coat contains red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, etc.

[0028] The centrifuge 50 rotates the insert unit 60 inserted into the unit insertion section 52b around the central body 52a. More specifically, the centrifuge 50 rotates the insert unit 60 inserted into the unit insertion section 52b in the rotation direction DR around the rotation center line (rotation center) LA shown in FIG. 1. This applies centrifugal force to the entire insert unit 60. This centrifugal force causes the blood to be centrifuged. The rotation center line LA is, for example, along the direction of gravity (second direction D2, described below).

[0029] The filter device 10 is attached to the insert unit 60. The filter device 10 is attached to, for example, the upper part of the insert unit 60, but is not limited to this.

[0030] The filter device 10 is attached to the insert unit 60, and is then attached to the centrifuge 50 via the insert unit 60. The centrifugal force described above is applied not only to the insert unit 60 but also to the filter device 10. The filter device 10 may also be attached directly to the centrifuge 50.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the filter device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0032] As described above, the filter device 10 can be attached to the centrifuge 50. In the following, the configuration of the filter device 10 will be described on the assumption that the filter device 10 is attached to the centrifuge 50.

[0033] A centrifugal direction DC, a centripetal direction DC-, a first direction D1, and a second direction D2 are shown in Figure 2. The centrifugal direction DC is the direction of centrifugal force applied to the filter device 10 by the centrifuge 50. The first direction D1 is the direction of tangential velocity in the circular motion of the filter device 10 performed by the centrifuge 50. The first direction D1 is perpendicular to (intersects with) the centrifugal direction DC. The second direction D2 is the direction of gravity. In this embodiment, the centrifugal direction DC and the first direction D1 are perpendicular to the second direction D2. The centripetal direction DC- is the opposite direction to the centrifugal direction DC.

[0034] The filter device 10 includes a housing 12. The housing 12 may be formed, for example, in a box shape. In this embodiment, the thickness direction of the housing 12 coincides with the second direction D2.

[0035] The housing 12 has an inlet portion 14 and an outlet portion 16. The inlet portion 14 has an inlet port 14a. The outlet portion 16 has an outlet port 16a. The inlet port 14a and the outlet port 16a are each an opening that communicates between the inside and outside of the housing 12. The inlet portion 14 and the outlet portion 16 shown in FIG. 2 protrude from the housing 12, but are not limited to this.

[0036] Different blood bags are connected to the inlet 14 and the outlet 16. The blood bag connected to the inlet 14 is a blood bag that contains blood before it is centrifuged. The blood bag connected to the outlet 16 is a blood bag for containing blood (blood components) that has passed through the filter device 10.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the filter device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0038] The housing 12 further includes an inflow passage 25, a first space 18, a second space 20, a partition wall 22, a leukocyte removal filter 24, and a communication port 28. The inflow passage 25, the first space 18, the second space 20, the partition wall 22, and the communication port 28 are provided within the housing 12. The leukocyte removal filter 24 is disposed in the second space 20.

[0039] The first space 18 is positioned in the centrifugal direction DC relative to the inlet flow passage 25 and the second space 20. In other words, the inlet flow passage 25 and the second space 20 are positioned between the first space 18 and the center of rotation LA (FIG. 1) of the centrifuge 50. The second space 20 is positioned in the first direction D1 relative to the inlet flow passage 25.

[0040] The partition wall 22 separates the first space 18 from the second space 20, and also separates the second space 20 from the inflow channel 25. More specifically, the partition wall 22 has a first wall portion 221 along the first direction D1 and a second wall portion 222 along the centrifugal direction DC. The first wall portion 221 separates the first space 18 from the second space 20. The second wall portion 222 separates the second space 20 from the inflow channel 25.

[0041] The inflow channel 25 is a channel that extends from the inflow port 14a to the first space 18. The inflow channel 25 extends along the centrifugal direction DC. Blood flows into the inflow channel 25 via the inflow port 14a.

[0042] Preferably, the inlet 14 a is formed along the centrifugal direction DC. In this case, the centrifugal force applied by the centrifuge 50 causes the blood to flow smoothly through the inlet 14 a and into the first space 18.

[0043] The first space 18 has a first portion 181 and a second portion 182. The first portion 181 is located on one side of the center line C18. The second portion 182 is located on the other side of the center line C18. The center line C18 is a virtual straight line that passes through the center of the first space 18 in the first direction D1 and extends along the centrifugal direction DC. The second portion 182 is located in the first direction D1 with respect to the first portion 181.

[0044] A first portion 181 of the first space 18 is connected to the inlet channel 25. Blood can flow along the inlet channel 25 into the first portion 181 of the first space 18 (FL1).

[0045] The first space 18 is provided with a curved wall 26. The curved wall 26 is a part of the inner wall that defines the first space 18. The inlet flow path 25 (inlet 14a) and the communication port 28 are located between the rotation center LA (FIG. 1) of the centrifuge 50 and the curved wall 26.

[0046] Curved wall 26 is curved so as to guide blood from first portion 181 toward second portion 182. This allows blood that has flowed into first portion 181 via inflow channel 25 to flow along curved wall 26 toward second portion 182 without flowing back toward inlet 14a (FL2, FL3).

[0047] The blood that has flowed into the first space 18 is centrifuged by the centrifuge 50. As a result, the blood in the first space 18 forms a supernatant liquid layer and a sediment liquid layer. The sediment liquid layer is located in the centrifugal direction DC relative to the supernatant liquid layer.

[0048] The main component of the sediment is white blood cells. This is because white blood cells are a relatively heavy blood component. In other words, white blood cells are a blood component that settles relatively easily, and therefore are the main component of the sediment. In contrast, the supernatant contains blood components that are lighter than white blood cells. For example, the supernatant contains a large amount of platelets, etc.

[0049] In this way, the white blood cells contained in the blood that has flowed into the first space 18 are collected on the centrifugal direction DC side of the first space 18 by the centrifugal force applied by the centrifuge 50 (FL2). On the other hand, blood components other than white blood cells are collected on the centripetal direction DC- side of the first space 18 (FL3).

[0050] The communication port 28 is an opening that communicates the first space 18 and the second space 20. The communication port 28 is located between the first space 18 and the second space 20. As shown in FIG. 3 , the second space 20 is located in the centripetal direction DC− with respect to the first space 18. Therefore, the communication port 28 is located in the centripetal direction DC− with respect to the first space 18. The communication port 28 is formed in, for example, the first wall portion 221 of the partition wall 22, but is not limited to this.

[0051] The blood that has flowed into the first space 18 can flow into the second space 20 via the communication port 28 (FL4). As described above, blood components other than white blood cells are collected on the centripetal direction DC- side of the first space 18. Therefore, blood components other than white blood cells are likely to flow into the second space 20 via the communication port 28. In other words, white blood cells are unlikely to flow into the second space 20.

[0052] As described above, the inlet 14a (inflow flow path 25) is connected to the first portion 181 of the first space 18. In such a case, it is preferable that the communication port 28 is connected to the second portion 182 of the first space 18. This prevents blood flowing due to centrifugal force from immediately flowing from the inlet 14a to the communication port 28. In other words, it is possible to prevent the blood flowing from the inlet 14a from reaching the communication port 28 before being separated into the sediment and supernatant liquid described above.

[0053] As described above, the leukocyte removal filter 24 is disposed in the second space 20. The leukocyte removal filter 24 includes a filter material for removing leukocytes from blood. The blood that flows into the second space 20 is filtered by the leukocyte removal filter 24. As a result, even if leukocytes flow into the second space 20, the leukocyte removal filter 24 will remove the leukocytes.

[0054] The second space 20 is provided with an outflow section 16. The outflow section 16 is provided with an outlet 16a. Therefore, blood in the second space 20 can flow out of the housing 12 through the outlet 16a (FL5).

[0055] Furthermore, the outlet 16a is located between the communication port 28 and the center of rotation LA (FIG. 1) of the centrifuge 50. This configuration prevents white blood cells that have flowed into the second space 20 from reaching the outlet 16a. In other words, in order for blood that has flowed into the second space 20 to reach the outlet 16a, it must flow in the centripetal direction DC- from the communication port 28. As described above, when centrifugal separation is performed by the centrifuge 50, white blood cells do not easily flow in the centripetal direction DC-. By making the direction from the outlet 16a toward the communication port 28 the centrifugal direction DC as shown in FIG. 3, white blood cells can be prevented from reaching the outlet 16a. This allows for a more effective reduction in the amount of white blood cells contained in the blood extracted from the outlet 16a.

[0056] The second space 20 has a first portion 201 and a second portion 202. The first portion 201 is located on one side of a center line C20. The second portion 202 is located on the other side of the center line C20. The center line C20 is a virtual straight line that passes through the center of the second space 20 in the first direction D1 and extends along the centrifugal direction DC. The second portion 202 is located in the first direction D1 with respect to the first portion 201.

[0057] The communication port 28 is connected to the second portion 202 of the second space 20. In such a case, it is preferable that the outlet 16a is connected to the first portion 201 of the second space 20. In this way, a sufficiently long blood movement path can be secured within the leukocyte removal filter 24. This allows the leukocyte removal filter 24 to more reliably remove leukocytes.

[0058] As described above, according to this embodiment, the blood that has flowed into the first space 18 is centrifuged by the centrifuge 50. This reduces the amount of leukocytes contained in the blood that flows into the second space 20. Leukocytes remaining in the blood that has flowed into the second space 20 are removed by the leukocyte removal filter 24. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to perform both leukocyte removal by centrifugation and leukocyte removal by the leukocyte removal filter 24 on the blood by simply operating the centrifuge 50.

[0059] [Modifications] Modifications of the above embodiment are described below. However, descriptions that overlap with the above embodiment will be omitted as appropriate. Elements that have already been described in the above embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals as in the above embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0060] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the internal structure of a filter device 10 (10A) according to a modified example.

[0061] The first space 18 may be provided with a guide wall 32 that guides blood flowing in through the inlet 14a in the centrifugal direction DC. The guide wall 32 is located between the communication port 28 and the inlet 14a (inlet flow path 25) in the first direction D1. The guide wall 32 extends, for example, in the centrifugal direction DC and further in the first direction D1.

[0062] Guide wall 32 prevents blood that has flowed into first space 18 from immediately reaching communication port 28 along first direction D1 (FL6). In other words, blood that has flowed into first space 18 from inlet 14a cannot reach communication port 28 without bypassing guide wall 32. This prevents blood that has not yet been centrifuged in first space 18 from immediately reaching communication port 28.

[0063] When the guide wall 32 is provided in the first space 18, the communication port 28 may be located in the first portion 181 of the first space 18. As described above, the guide wall 32 may prevent the blood that has flowed into the first space 18 from immediately reaching the communication port 28 along the first direction D1.

[0064] The communication port 28 located in the first portion 181 of the first space 18 can be connected to the first portion 201 of the second space 20. In such a case, it is preferable to position the outlet 16a in the second portion 202 of the second space 20. In this way, a sufficiently long blood movement path can be secured within the leukocyte removal filter 24. This allows the leukocyte removal filter 24 to more reliably remove leukocytes.

[0065] The present invention is not limited to the above disclosure, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Claims

1. A filter device to be attached to a centrifuge, comprising: a first space formed within a housing and into which blood flows in via an inlet; a second space formed within the housing and from which blood flows out via an outlet; a partition separating the first space from the second space; a communication port connecting the first space to the second space; and a leukocyte removal filter disposed within the second space for removing leukocytes contained in the blood, wherein the second space is located between the first space and the center of rotation of the centrifuge.

2. A filter device as described in claim 1, wherein the inlet is located on one side of the first space in a first direction intersecting a centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied, and the communication port is located on the other side of the first space in the first direction.

3. A filter device as described in claim 2, wherein the outlet is located on one side of the second space in the first direction, and the communication port is located on the other side of the second space in the first direction.

4. A filter device according to claim 1, wherein the first space is provided with a guide wall for guiding the blood flowing in through the inlet in a centrifugal direction, which is the direction in which centrifugal force is applied.

5. A filter device as described in claim 4, wherein the inlet and the communication port are located on one side of the first space in a first direction intersecting a centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied.

6. A filter device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication port is located on one side of the second space in the first direction, and the outlet port is located on the other side of the second space in the first direction.

7. A filter device according to claim 1, wherein the first space is provided with a curved wall, and the inlet and the communication port are located between the center of rotation of the centrifuge and the curved wall.

8. A filter device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an inflow passage extending from the inlet to the first space and separated from the second space is formed within the housing, and the inflow passage extends along the centrifugal direction in which centrifugal force is applied.