Blood Purification Kit with Selective Adsorbent Resins

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for treating systemic inflammatory diseases are ineffective in efficiently removing low and middle molecular weight toxins from the blood, often result in loss of essential proteins like serum albumin, and are not easily reversible or adaptable to individual patient conditions.

Innovation Solution

A kit combining a high permeability filter with adsorbent cartridges containing hydrophobic polystyrene, ion-exchange, or ultrapure silica resins to selectively retain inflammatory mediators like VEGF and cytokines without retaining serum albumin, allowing for its reinfusion and enabling quick, adaptable treatment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional filters and sorbents are used for blood purification, then inflammatory mediators can be removed, but serum albumin is also lost and essential proteins are retained with toxins

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveselectivity of toxin removalVSAvoidserum albumin loss
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The blood purification system is segmented into multiple functional modules: a high permeability filter module for separating plasma from blood cells, and a separate adsorption module containing selective sorbents. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each module's function - the filter focuses on plasma separation while the adsorbents focus on selective toxin binding, preventing non-selective protein loss

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the purification system are assigned different functional properties: the high permeability filter region provides size-based separation with pore sizes of 0.03-0.1 micrometers, while the adsorption region contains sorbents with specific chemical properties (hydrophobic, ion-exchange, or affinity-based) tailored to bind inflammatory mediators. This local functional differentiation enables selective toxin removal without affecting serum albumin

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If high permeability filters with large pore sizes are used to allow albumin passage, then serum albumin can be reinfused, but the filter structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveability to reinfuse serum albuminVSAvoidfilter structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The high permeability filter employs composite material construction combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains within the membrane structure. This composite approach achieves the dual requirement of large pore sizes (0.03-0.1 micrometers) for albumin passage while maintaining mechanical strength and selectivity through the synergistic combination of different material properties within the filter matrix

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Productivity

If multiple adsorbent types are combined in series to remove different toxins, then removal efficiency increases, but the treatment system becomes less adaptable to individual patient conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetoxin removal efficiencyVSAvoidadaptability to individual patient conditions
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The adsorption modules are designed with dynamic configurability, allowing the sequence, combination, and activation state of different adsorbent types to be adjusted based on patient-specific requirements. The system can dynamically adapt the treatment protocol by activating or deactivating specific modules (e.g., hydrophobic adsorption, ion-exchange adsorption, or affinity-based adsorption) according to the patient's inflammatory profile and clinical condition

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

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 removes inflammatory mediators without losing serum albumin, allowing for quick and tailored treatment of various systemic inflammation-related conditions with minimal invasiveness and reversibility.

Implementation Method 1

The filter has a pore size that ranges between 0.03 and 0.1 micrometer and gives rise to a sieving coefficient of less than 0.4 for IgM and of more than 0.6 for serum albumin

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFiltration: Filter (physical)

Implementation Method 2

the means to retain the inflammatory mediators are selected from a group consisting of a hydrophobic polystyrene resin, an ion-exchange polystyrene resin, an ultrapure bonded silica resin or mixtures of these resins

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdsorption: Adsorption

Data Source

PatentEP1944046B1Kit for treating a systematic inflammation related diseases
Publication Date: 2010.08.11 BELLCO SRL
  • EP1944046B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP1944046B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP1944046B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

It is described a kit for treating a systemic inflammatatory related disease comprising a) a high permeability filter having a pore size designed to let inflammatory mediators to pass and b) means to retain said mediators but not serum albumin; pore size is selected so as to have a sieving coefficient of less than 0.4 for IgM and of more than 0.6 for albumin. The disease is selected from the group consisting in e.g. respiratory distress syndrome, acute lung injury, acute respiratory failure, severe pancreatitis, tumor lysis syndrome, myeloma, myasthenia gravis, vasculitis, rhabdomyolysis, systemic inflammatory response from coronary artery bypass grafting during cardiopulmonary bypass, systemic sclerosis, end stage renal diseases, age related macular degeneration, diabetic nephropathy.