Fluid Separator Card Assembly with Absorbent Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for collecting and processing biological fluids, such as blood, face challenges including sample instability, container breakage, and the need for expensive equipment for centrifugation, while dried sample methods can introduce errors due to hemolysis and require complex devices for separation.
Innovation Solution
A self-contained fluid sample collection card assembly that includes an absorbent layer secured to a tray assembly with a bridge for increased friction, allowing for easy separation and drying of fluid samples, enabling visual observation of collected components and simplifying transportation without additional biohazard handling costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If liquid sample collection methods are used, then sample quantity is sufficient for testing, but sample instability and container breakage occur during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the sample from liquid to dried form by changing its physical state. The absorbent layer absorbs the liquid sample and allows it to dry, converting it into a stable dried blood spot that can be transported without special precautions against breakage or leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a simple, disposable absorbent layer that can be discarded after use, eliminating the need for expensive, fragile glass vials and complex sealing mechanisms. The absorbent layer itself serves as both the collection medium and the transport container.
2Manufacturing precision
If centrifugation equipment is used for separation, then serum or plasma separation is effective, but equipment cost and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the separation function from complex centrifugation equipment and incorporates it directly into the absorbent layer itself. The absorbent layer is designed with selective absorption properties that separate serum/plasma from blood cells through capillary action, eliminating the need for external centrifugation equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The absorbent layer performs separation automatically through its material properties without requiring external equipment. The selective absorption and capillary wicking actions occur naturally when the sample is applied, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating dependency on expensive centrifuges.
3Ease of operation
If dried blood samples are collected on filter paper, then transport is simplified, but hemolysis errors occur during drying
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specifically designed absorbent layer as an intermediary between the blood sample and the drying process. This absorbent layer controls the drying rate and provides a supportive matrix that prevents hemolysis, thereby maintaining sample integrity while still enabling simplified transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The absorbent layer is constructed from composite materials with specific properties that prevent hemolysis during drying. The material composition is engineered to provide mechanical support to red blood cells while allowing controlled drying, thus preventing cell rupture and maintaining analytical accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If conventional filter paper is used for dried sample collection, then transport is easier, but sample quantity control is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent layer is designed with specific local properties including defined absorption capacity and controlled porosity in different zones. This allows precise control over how much sample is absorbed and how it distributes across the layer, ensuring sufficient quantity for analysis while maintaining ease of 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
The solution provides a stable, cost-effective means for collecting and separating biological fluids, reducing errors and equipment needs, while allowing for accurate analysis and easy mailing of dried samples, ensuring sufficient sample quantity and preserving components for analysis.
Implementation Method 1
an absorbent layer configured to receive a fluid sample
Implementation Method 2
a bridge for increased friction, allowing for easy separation and drying of fluid samples
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid sample collection card assembly in one embodiment is assembled by forming a tray assembly by supporting an absorbent layer configured to receive a fluid sample on a base portion, the base portion including a tray portion, by positioning the absorbent layer on an upper surface of a holder portion of the tray portion, the holder portion located beneath an upper surface of the tray portion, removably inserting the formed tray assembly into a tray assembly receiving cavity of a case through a mouth portion of the case, and closing, at least substantially, the mouth portion of the case with a faceplate portion of the base portion.