Fluid Irradiation via Laminar Flow for Pathogen Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for irradiating concentrated biological fluids, such as blood components, face challenges in achieving uniform radiation penetration due to opacity issues, requiring large containers or extended irradiation times, making them impractical for routine use in blood processing centers.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that focus the fluid into a thin, laminar layer within an irradiation chamber, allowing controlled radiation dosing even for opaque fluids, using a permeable chamber and adjustable flow rates to ensure consistent thickness and minimize contact with chamber walls, thereby enabling effective penetration and treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional irradiation methods are used on concentrated fluids, then pathogen reduction is achieved, but radiation penetration is insufficient due to fluid opacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from bulk irradiation to thin-layer irradiation by forming a laminar flow with controlled thickness (typically 0.1-10 mm). This dimensional change in the fluid configuration allows radiation to penetrate effectively through the entire fluid layer, solving the penetration issue while maintaining pathogen reduction effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The irradiation is applied locally to the thin laminar layer rather than to the bulk fluid. The fluid is transformed into a localized thin layer configuration that optimizes radiation interaction, allowing sufficient penetration while maintaining the biological effectiveness for pathogen inactivation.
2Quantity of substance
If large containers are used to accommodate concentrated fluids, then sufficient fluid volume is treated, but irradiation time increases considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs continuous flow irradiation where fluid continuously passes through the irradiation zone in laminar flow. This continuous processing allows large volumes to be treated efficiently without the time penalty of batch processing in large containers, as the thin layer configuration enables rapid and uniform irradiation throughout the flow.
Solution Approach 2:
By transforming the fluid from a bulk volume in a large container to a thin laminar layer in continuous flow, the system achieves both large throughput capacity and short irradiation times. The dimensional transformation enables efficient radiation interaction while maintaining high processing volume capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If stirring and joint irradiation are used, then uniform irradiation is achieved, but the method becomes impractical for routine use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical stirring with hydrodynamic laminar flow to achieve uniform irradiation. The controlled laminar flow naturally ensures uniform radiation distribution without requiring mechanical agitation devices, making the system simpler and more suitable for routine automated operation in blood processing centers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the flow regime parameter to laminar flow with specific Reynolds number control, which inherently provides uniform irradiation distribution. This parameter optimization achieves the uniformity previously obtained through mechanical stirring but in a more operationally simple and automated manner.
4Illumination intensity
If thin layers are formed to improve radiation penetration, then light penetration is sufficient, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The irradiation chamber is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a flow channel for creating the thin laminar layer and as the irradiation zone. This integrated design achieves thin-layer formation and radiation delivery in a single simple structure, avoiding the need for separate complex thinning mechanisms while ensuring sufficient light penetration.
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
This approach allows for efficient reduction of pathogens in biological fluids while minimizing damage, enabling the treatment of concentrated fluids like packed red blood cells with precise radiation dosing and reduced treatment time, making it suitable for routine use in blood processing.
Implementation Method 1
The fluid is focused in order to form a flow in a laminar regime
Implementation Method 2
modifying the physical, chemical and/or biological properties of a fluid by irradiation
Implementation Method 3
the combination of a substance photosensitive with radiation
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for modifying the physical, chemical and/or biological properties of a fluid by irradiation using a metered amount of radiation, said method including feeding a flow of fluid to be irradiated into an irradiation chamber and applying said metered amount of radiation onto the flow of fluid to be irradiated in a predetermined portion of the irradiation chamber, said flow being focused in said portion according to a shape arranged so that said metered amount modifies the properties of said fluid. The invention also relates to a system for implementing said method.