Donor Lung Pressure Regulation During Air Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preserving and transporting bodily tissue, particularly lungs, face challenges such as limited viability due to oxygen insufficiency, edema, and damage from pressure changes during transport, especially at varying altitudes, with existing devices being bulky, complex, and prone to increased manufacturing costs and failure.
Innovation Solution
The use of expandable accumulators to maintain constant pressure within donor lungs during transport, coupled with anatomically replicative storage chambers, and compatible with both static cold storage and hypothermic machine perfusion devices, to prevent over-inflation and damage, while ensuring sterile separation of airway environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If lungs are inflated with air and trachea/bronchus are stapled to hold air during storage and transport, then the lung can be maintained in an inflated state, but pressure changes during air transport can cause over-inflation and tissue damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static stapled inflation method to a dynamic pressure-regulated system using an expandable accumulator and pressure sensor that continuously adjusts to maintain optimal lung inflation pressure despite external pressure changes during transport
Solution Approach 2:
A pressure sensor provides real-time feedback on lung pressure, which is used to control the inflation/deflation of the expandable accumulator, creating a closed-loop system that automatically maintains safe pressure levels within the lung during transport
2Use of energy by moving object
If hypothermic temperatures are used to preserve bodily tissue, then oxygen demand of the tissue decreases, but the tissue's viability is still time-limited by insufficient oxygen levels
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the temperature parameter to hypothermic levels to reduce metabolic oxygen demand, while simultaneously providing controlled oxygen delivery through the expandable accumulator system to extend viability duration
3Duration of action of moving object
If known hypothermic perfusion devices are used to preserve tissue, then oxygenated perfusate can be supplied to tissue cells and tissue viability prolonged, but the devices are large and require significant volume of compressed gas and electrical power
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a large centralized perfusion device, the system distributes the preservation function locally through an expandable accumulator that can be positioned directly with the lung, eliminating the need for bulky external gas storage and power requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable accumulator system is designed to be self-contained and self-regulating, using the lung's own pressure feedback to control inflation/deflation without requiring external power sources or complex control systems
4Duration of action of moving object
If known hypothermic perfusion devices are used to preserve tissue, then oxygenated perfusate can be supplied to tissue cells, but the devices are very complex leading to increased manufacturing costs and higher failure rates
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and isolates the essential function of pressure regulation from the complex perfusion device, using a simple expandable accumulator coupled with pressure sensor feedback to achieve viable preservation without the complexity of full perfusion machinery
5Adaptability or versatility
If lungs are transported via air to extend geographic reach, then more recipients can be reached, but the lungs are subjected to pressure changes associated with altitude changes
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable accumulator system is pre-configured to counteract the effects of altitude-induced pressure changes by dynamically adjusting lung inflation pressure to compensate for external pressure drops during air transport
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 tissue viability by stabilizing pressure and maintaining desired inflation, reducing damage, and facilitating better tissue matching, thus increasing graft survival rates and availability for transplantation.
Implementation Method 1
The expandable accumulator may be more compliant than the airways of the donor lung such that the expandable accumulator expands in response to a relative increase in the volume of gas (e.g., through a change in relative pressure) contained in the closed system formed by the lungs airways and accumulator
Implementation Method 2
By expanding, the accumulator can accommodate and absorb the relative increases in gas volume, stabilizing pressure within the system, and preventing over-inflation of and damage to the lung tissue
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of the invention generally relate to prolonging viability of bodily tissue, especially lung tissue, through the use of an expandable accumulator to maintain a constant pressure within the lumen of the organ even during external pressure fluctuations due to, for example, flight. Systems and methods may include prolonging donor organ viability in storage through the use of an organ container that mimics the geometry and orientation of the organ in vivo.