Adipose Tissue Filtration for Cell Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preparing adipose tissue for transplantation from liposuctioned material are inefficient, leading to significant loss of usable cells due to mechanical breakage and contamination risks, and require multiple steps and chemical treatments, making them unsuitable for outpatient settings and increasing the risk of infections.
Innovation Solution
A device and method using mechanical means to separate and wash adipose tissue, forming an emulsion to float solid cell components, reducing cell size through multiple nets, and maintaining a closed system to prevent contamination, allowing for quick and sterile preparation of adipose tissue for transplantation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If centrifugation is used to separate liquid phase from solid biological material, then separation efficiency is improved, but cell breakage increases and oil contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the centrifugal mechanical separation system with a filtration system using meshes and filters. The lipoaspirate is filtered through progressively finer meshes (e.g., 1.0mm, 0.5mm, 0.25mm) to separate oil and debris from viable adipocytes without the high-speed rotation that causes cell rupture. This substitution maintains separation efficiency while eliminating the harmful mechanical stress of centrifugation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs porous filtration materials including meshes with specific pore sizes and filters designed to trap oil, debris, and broken cell fragments while allowing intact adipocytes to pass through. The progressive filtration through multiple stages with decreasing pore sizes enables effective separation without requiring the high forces that cause cell breakage in centrifugation.
2Manufacturing precision
If mechanical fragmentation using a blender is used to separate fat lobules, then fat lobule separation is improved, but adipocyte breakage increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fat lobules through progressive mechanical disruption using a series of meshes with decreasing pore sizes. Instead of one-step blender fragmentation that shatters cells, the tissue is gradually broken down by passing through multiple filtration stages, separating lobules into smaller units while preserving adipocyte integrity for transplantation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by using filtration to achieve fragmentation rather than direct mechanical cutting. The mesh filters naturally fragment the lobules as they pass through, achieving the desired separation effect without the aggressive blade action of blenders that causes excessive cell breakage.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple processing steps and chemical treatments are used to prepare adipose tissue, then purification is improved, but processing time increases and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separation and purification functions into a single integrated filtration system. The progressive mesh filtration simultaneously achieves lobule separation, oil removal, debris elimination, and cell concentration in one continuous process, eliminating the need for separate centrifugation, washing, and filtration steps that extend processing time and increase contamination opportunities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable filtered syringes and single-use filtration systems that eliminate the need for extensive cleaning and sterilization between uses. This disposable approach reduces processing time by eliminating re-sterilization steps and minimizes contamination risk by providing a fresh, sterile filtration path for each preparation.
4Ease of operation
If open system processing is used to prepare liposuctioned material, then ease of operation is improved, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses sealed flexible containers and closed-system filtration cartridges that maintain sterility throughout the preparation process. The lipoaspirate remains enclosed in sterile containers from extraction through filtration to final injection preparation, with only the necessary ports opened for material transfer, thereby maintaining ease of operation while eliminating exposure to environmental contaminants.
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
The method effectively reduces cell size to facilitate easier injection through small needles, minimizes contamination risks, and allows for quick preparation of adipose tissue suitable for transplantation with reduced trauma and increased stem cell exposure, suitable for both outpatient and surgical settings.
Implementation Method 1
means for mechanically forming an emulsion of fluid components, on which the cell components designed to be used for later transplantation will float, separate from the liquid component
Implementation Method 2
the cell components designed to be used for later transplantation will float, separate from the liquid component
Data Source
AI summary
A method of preparing adipose tissue for transplantation, from lobular fat extracted, for instance, by liposuction, the fat including a fluid component that also includes an oily component, a blood component and/or sterile solutions and of a solid component that includes cell fragments, cells and one or more cell macroagglomerates of heterogeneous size, characterized in that it includes at least one step of forming an emulsion of the fluid component in the sterile washing solution by active and/or passive stirring and discharging the emulsion from the outlet through a density gradient.