Gravity-Assisted Aseptic Transfer Table for Isolator Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for aseptically transferring components into pharmaceutical isolators are cumbersome and inefficient, requiring frequent reloading due to heavy containers and limiting the number of components that can be transferred at once.
Innovation Solution
A tiltable transfer table with a gas-impermeable plastic bag system that allows for gravity-assisted transfer of sterile components into the isolator, eliminating the need for manual handling and reducing contamination risks through a decontamination connector and clamping mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional heavy canisters are used for transferring sterile components, then aseptic transfer is maintained, but the container weight limits the number of components that can be transferred at once and requires frequent reloading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid heavy canisters with flexible plastic bags made of gas-impermeable material. These thin-film containers can be made much larger without proportionally increasing weight, allowing bulk transfer of sterile components while maintaining aseptic conditions through the flexible sealing mechanism at the bag opening.
2Ease of operation
If manual handling of heavy canisters is used, then transfer operation is performed, but operating personnel face safety risks and operational difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical handling of heavy canisters with a gravity-assisted tilt table mechanism. The table can be tilted to allow sterile components to slide automatically from the bag into the isolator, eliminating the need for personnel to manually lift and maneuver heavy containers, thereby improving safety and ease of operation.
3Productivity
If the bag is cut open for transfer, then components can be emptied, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a decontamination connector as an intermediary device between the opened bag and the isolator. This connector includes a decontamination chamber where the bag opening is sealed and subjected to decontamination treatment (such as UV irradiation or chemical sterilization). This intermediary step allows the bag to be opened for efficient component transfer while maintaining sterility through the decontamination barrier, thus resolving the contradiction between transfer efficiency and sterility maintenance.
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
Enables safe and efficient transfer of a larger batch of sterile components with reduced frequency of reloading, maintaining sterility and simplifying the process for operating personnel.
Implementation Method 1
The table surface is then tilted upward, thereby allowing the sterile components to slide out of the bag, through the decontamination connector, and into the isolator
Data Source
AI summary
A system for aseptically transferring components from a container into a pharmaceutical isolator. The system includes a single-use flexible container that holds the components, a decontamination device that is mounted on the isolator, and a transfer table that facilitates transferring the components into the isolator. The container is placed on the transfer table and a front end attached to the decontamination device. The interior of the decontamination device and a front end of the container are decontaminated and the transfer table then mechanically brought into a position which allows the components to slide in a gravity-assisted manner into the isolator.