Bodily Fluid Sample Transport via Segmented Capillary Arrays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional blood sample collection and transportation methods require substantial blood volumes, leading to high costs and logistical challenges, including the need for skilled technicians and specialized cooling to maintain sample integrity, limiting the efficiency and accessibility of laboratory testing.
Innovation Solution
The development of a transport system that allows for the physical transport of small volumes of bodily fluids in liquid form, using containers with high density sample vessel arrays, anti-coagulating agents, and integrated thermal control units to maintain sample integrity and efficiency, enabling the transportation of multiple samples from diverse subjects without segregation based on test types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional venipuncture and substantial blood volume extraction is used, then sample integrity can be maintained through conventional cooling, but transportation costs and logistical complexity increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the blood sample into multiple small-volume capillary tubes (e.g., 10-100 microliters each) rather than transporting a single large-volume sample. This segmentation allows for reduced cooling requirements and lower transportation costs while maintaining sample integrity through the use of multiple small containers that can be efficiently packaged and cooled.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the volume parameter of the blood sample from milliliters to microliters per container. This parameter change fundamentally alters the thermal mass of the sample, reducing the energy required for cooling and transportation while maintaining adequate sample quantity for multiple tests through the use of multiple small containers.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple vials of blood are extracted for traditional testing, then comprehensive testing can be performed, but the cost and logistics of transporting samples increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple small-volume capillary tube samples into a single transport container, consolidating what would traditionally require multiple separate vial transports. This merging reduces transport logistics complexity while maintaining the ability to perform comprehensive testing by pooling sufficient total volume across multiple small samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-dimension approach (one large vial) to a multi-dimensional approach (multiple small capillary tubes arranged in a container array). This dimensional change allows for efficient packaging and transport while maintaining comprehensive testing capability through the collective volume of multiple small samples.
3Quantity of substance
If substantial blood volume is used for traditional testing, then adequate sample material is available for analysis, but cooling requirements during transport increase to maintain sample integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The total blood volume required for testing is segmented into multiple small-capacity capillary tubes rather than using a single large-volume container. This segmentation reduces the thermal mass that requires cooling, lowering energy consumption while maintaining adequate total sample quantity for comprehensive testing through the aggregate volume of multiple small tubes.
4Reliability
If conventional transport methods are used for blood samples, then sample integrity can be maintained, but the system requires skilled technicians and specialized infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The capillary tubes are designed to be self-collecting through capillary action, eliminating the need for skilled technicians to perform venipuncture and manually fill vials. The small-volume containers can be easily filled by non-experts and transported using simplified logistics, while sample integrity is maintained through the inherent stability of small-volume sealed containers.
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 reduces transportation costs and logistical complexities, allows for more efficient sample processing, and increases the accessibility of laboratory testing by maintaining sample integrity and enabling the analysis of diverse samples in a single transport container.
Implementation Method 1
The housing comprises a controlled thermal profile, controlled uniform thermal profile material having a high heat of fusion that provides an interior surface configured to face the sample vessels and provide passive cooling thereto.
Implementation Method 2
The housing comprises a controlled thermal profile, controlled uniform thermal profile material having a high heat of fusion that provides an interior surface configured to face the sample vessels and provide passive cooling thereto.
Data Source
AI summary
Bodily fluid sample transport systems, devices, and method are provided. In at least one embodiment described herein, methods are provided for the physical transport of small volumes of bodily fluid in liquid form from one location to another location. By way of nonlimiting example, the samples are collected in liquid form at a collection site, transported in liquid form, and arrive at an analysis site in liquid form. In many embodiments, the liquid form during transport is not held in a porous matrix, wicking material, webbing, or similar material that prevents sample for being extracted in liquid form at the destination site. In one embodiment, small volume of sample in each sample vessel is in the range of about 1 ml to about 1 microliter.