Air Trap Chamber Side Outlet for Low-Foam Blood Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air trap chambers in kidney dialysis face issues with blood flow that lead to foaming and stagnation due to the outlet position and shape, affecting the discharge of blood, which can cause thrombosis and hemolysis.
Innovation Solution
The air trap chamber design includes a liquid guide pipe with a tubular shape and a strategically positioned outlet that ensures blood flows smoothly into a horizontal direction, reducing foaming and stagnation by controlling the outlet's height and shape, and integrating the cap and body parts for precise assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the outlet is formed in the side surface of the liquid guide pipe, then blood flow can be directed horizontally to prevent foaming, but the outlet position and shape must be precisely controlled to avoid blood stagnation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by optimizing the outlet's position, size, and shape parameters. Specifically, the outlet is positioned at a height of 0.5-2.0cm from the liquid guide pipe bottom, with a width of 0.3-1.0cm and length of 0.5-2.0cm. These parameter adjustments ensure horizontal blood flow direction while preventing both foaming and stagnation, resolving the contradiction between harm reduction and manufacturing precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from vertical blood flow (single dimension) to horizontal blood flow (another dimension) by positioning the outlet on the side surface of the liquid guide pipe. This dimensional change directs blood flow horizontally along the chamber wall, preventing impact on the liquid surface and eliminating foaming, while the controlled outlet dimensions prevent stagnation.
2Ease of operation
If the outlet is positioned higher than the liquid surface, then blood can be discharged horizontally without falling, but the outlet shape and position become critical to prevent direct downward fall
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the outlet: height of 0.5-2.0cm from the liquid guide pipe bottom, width of 0.3-1.0cm, and length of 0.5-2.0cm. These parameter changes ensure the outlet is positioned optimally to discharge blood horizontally while maintaining sufficient distance from the chamber wall to allow smooth flow along the wall surface, preventing both direct fall and stagnation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates equipotential conditions by positioning the outlet at an appropriate height and orientation, allowing blood to flow horizontally along the chamber wall under uniform gravitational influence. This equipotential positioning ensures blood discharged from the outlet naturally follows the chamber wall surface without requiring additional forces or precise positioning tolerances.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the outlet is positioned lower than the liquid surface, then blood will not fall regardless of outlet shape, but blood may stagnate above the outlet unless smooth turning flow is achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes outlet parameters including position (0.5-2.0cm from bottom), width (0.3-1.0cm), and length (0.5-2.0cm) to achieve smooth turning flow. These parameter changes create a flow path that naturally directs blood horizontally along the chamber wall, preventing both falling and stagnation without requiring complex surrounding structures or additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved flow paths and smooth transitions in the outlet design, allowing blood to turn horizontally along the chamber wall in a smooth, curved manner. This curvature approach facilitates smooth turning flow that prevents stagnation while maintaining simple outlet structure, resolving the contradiction between preventing blood fall and avoiding device complexity.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If various factors affecting blood flow are studied to solve foaming and stagnation problems, then flow control improves, but the design complexity increases due to synergistic and counter effects of multiple factors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent systematically optimizes multiple parameters (outlet position, size, shape, and liquid guide pipe dimensions) to control blood flow characteristics. By coordinating these parameter changes, the patent achieves effective control over foaming and stagnation while maintaining relatively simple device structure, as the parameter optimizations work synergistically rather than requiring complex additional components.
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 design minimizes foaming and thrombosis risks by ensuring blood flows smoothly without striking the liquid surface, reducing pressure changes and stagnation, while improving moldability and assembly precision.
Implementation Method 1
Blood that has flowed in from the inflow port at the upper end portion flows toward the lower end due to the force of gravity
Implementation Method 2
the discharged blood flows along the inside circumferential surface of the chamber as a turning flow
Data Source
AI summary
An air trap chamber comprises a housing having a tubular body part, and a cap part The cap part has a cap ring section, a top plate section, and an inflow port. The inflow port has a liquid guide pipe. The liquid guide pipe section has a tubular shape having a vertical cavity surrounded by a liquid guide pipe side surface and a liquid guide pipe bottom surface. An outlet linked to the vertical cavity is formed in the liquid guide pipe side surface. A greatest height connecting a lowermost end and an uppermost end of an opening surface of the outlet is greater than a depth of the vertical cavity between the opening of the vertical cavity and a deeper wall at a position of an upper end of a boundary between the outlet and the vertical cavity.