Blood Collection Tube With Additive Blocking And Slosh Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for collecting and transporting blood samples are inefficient, prone to temperature control errors, leading to inaccurate lab results, and do not address issues such as hemolysis and incorrect additive-to-blood ratios, which can cause delays and increased costs in healthcare settings.
Innovation Solution
A blood collection tube with a heat transfer element that initiates temperature control processes contemporaneously with blood extraction, incorporates a slosh dampening mechanism, and adjusts additive ratios based on blood volume, using a fracturable element to mix reagents for temperature regulation and a space-occupying element to minimize sloshing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the test tube is manually placed in an ice slurry for temperature control, then the blood sample temperature can be maintained, but the process is time-intensive and prone to error
Solution Approach 1:
The heat transfer element is pre-loaded into the test tube before blood collection, and the fracturable element is pre-positioned to separate reagents. When the tube is inverted after collection, the fracturable element automatically breaks, initiating the heat transfer process without requiring manual intervention to place the tube in ice slurry afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the inversion action (already performed by the phlebotomist to mix blood with additives) to simultaneously trigger the heat transfer process. The fracturable element breaks during inversion, releasing reagents that initiate heat transfer autonomously without requiring separate manual steps.
2Temperature
If ice baths are used for cooling blood samples, then temperature control is achieved, but incorrect analyses may result due to improper cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from external environmental cooling (ice baths) to internal chemical heat transfer. By changing the cooling mechanism from passive thermal conduction through ice to active chemical reaction-based heat transfer, the system achieves more controlled and reliable temperature maintenance that ensures accurate lab analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
Heat transfer reagents serve as an intermediary substance between the blood sample and the cooling process. These reagents facilitate controlled heat transfer directly within the test tube, providing more reliable and consistent temperature control compared to direct ice contact.
3Ease of operation
If the test tube is underfilled with blood, then easier collection is achieved, but incorrect additive-to-blood ratios result affecting coagulation analyses
Solution Approach 1:
The additive blocking element dynamically adjusts its position based on the blood volume in the tube. When the tube is inverted, blood flow pushes the blocking element downward to expose more additive surface area, automatically compensating for underfilling and maintaining the correct additive-to-blood ratio regardless of collection volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through the additive blocking element's position and the color-changing indicator. The phlebotomist can observe the element's position to assess blood volume, and the color change confirms proper mixing and additive contact, enabling real-time verification of correct ratios.
4Device complexity
If blood is collected and transported without slosh dampening, then simpler tube design is achieved, but hemolysis occurs during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle element is strategically positioned at the bottom of the test tube where sloshing forces are most intense during transport. This localized structural feature provides hemolysis protection precisely where it is most needed without requiring complex modifications throughout the entire tube structure.
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
Enhances accuracy and efficiency of lab tests by maintaining optimal sample temperatures, reducing hemolysis, and ensuring correct additive ratios, thereby minimizing misdiagnosis and reducing healthcare costs.
Implementation Method 1
a heat transfer element encapsulating the test tube and storing at least two reagents capable of initiating a heat transfer process contemporaneously with the extraction of the blood from the patient
Implementation Method 2
an insulation element encapsulating the heat transfer element, the insulation element inhibiting the loss of a temperature change of the blood
Data Source
AI summary
A blood collection apparatus comprising: a test tube element for storing blood extracted from a patient, the test tube element comprising a vacuum facilitating an extraction of the blood, and comprising a test tube septum; an additive, within the test tube element, and beings encased by a soluble film, wherein exposure of the soluble film to the extracted blood dissolves the soluble film, whereby the additive is only available to react with the blood extracted from a patient after the soluble film has been dissolved; and an additive blocking element incorporated into the test tube septum, wherein the additive blocking element blocks the extracted blood from dissolving a portion of the soluble film and thereby limiting the amount of additive applied to the extracted blood, limiting the free surface of the blood thereby limiting the sloshing of the extracted blood within the test tube.