Microfluidic Acoustic Blood Cleansing With Continuous Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood cleansing devices are inefficient and costly, often discarding large portions of blood and relying on diluents, sheath flow, controlled solution conductivity, microfabricated materials, and toxic additives, failing to provide continuous flow and effective separation of undesirable particles from blood.
Innovation Solution
A microfluidic blood cleansing device using acoustic transducers to impose standing waves in a separation channel, aligning formed elements with the channel center and undesirable particles with the walls, utilizing lipid-based capture particles to bind with undesirable particles, and separating them through acoustophoretic mobility differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If centrifugation or liquid chromatography is used for blood cleansing, then separation of undesirable particles from blood is achieved, but large portions of blood are discarded and the devices cannot provide continuous flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical separation methods (centrifugation, chromatography) with acoustic field-based separation using standing surface acoustic waves (SSAW). The SSAW generates acoustic radiation forces that manipulate particle positions without mechanical movement of the entire blood sample, enabling continuous flow processing while maintaining separation efficiency and minimizing blood waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses acoustic waves (a form of mechanical energy propagation through fluid) to achieve separation. The standing surface acoustic waves create acoustic pressure nodes and antinodes that selectively position different blood components, enabling separation without the need for mechanical centrifugal forces or chemical chromatography processes that require sample interruption and waste generation.
2Manufacturing precision
If microfabricated on-chip materials are used for blood separation, then separation precision is improved, but device cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a glass slide coated with a thin layer of piezoelectric material (such as zinc oxide or aluminum nitride) as a substrate for generating surface acoustic waves. This approach replicates the functionality of complex microfabricated acoustic devices using simpler, cheaper materials and manufacturing processes, achieving the same acoustic field generation without requiring expensive silicon-based microfabrication techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters from expensive microfabricated polymers and silicon structures to readily available glass and thin-film piezoelectric materials. This parameter change in material selection and structure dramatically reduces manufacturing cost while maintaining the ability to generate precise standing surface acoustic waves for blood component separation.
3Ease of operation
If diluents, sheath flow, or toxic additives are used in blood cleansing, then separation process is facilitated, but patient safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the inherent physical properties of blood components (density, compressibility, acoustic impedance) to achieve separation through acoustic radiation forces. The standing surface acoustic waves automatically differentiate and position different blood components based on their intrinsic acoustic characteristics, eliminating the need for external chemical agents, diluents, or toxic additives that would compromise patient safety.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively separates undesirable particles from blood with high throughput, reducing the need for external pumps and toxic additives, and allowing for continuous blood cleansing with improved efficiency and reduced waste.
Implementation Method 1
acoustic transducers to impose standing waves in a separation channel, aligning formed elements with the channel center and undesirable particles with the walls
Implementation Method 2
separating them through acoustophoretic mobility differences
Implementation Method 3
utilizing lipid-based capture particles to bind with undesirable particles
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for cleansing blood are disclosed herein. The methods include acoustically separating undesirable particles bound to capture particles from formed elements of whole blood. After introducing the capture particles to whole blood containing undesirable particles, the whole blood and capture particles are flowed through a microfluidic separation channel. At least one bulk acoustic transducer is attached to the microfluidic separation channel. A standing acoustic wave, imparted on the channel and its contents by the bulk acoustic transducer, drives the formed elements and undesirable particles bound to capture particles to specific aggregation axes. After aggregating the particles, the formed elements exit the separation channel through a first outlet and are returned to the patient. The undesirable particles, bound to the capture particles, exit through a second outlet and can be discarded to saved for later study.