Immune-Reduced Cross-Circulation Circuit for Organ Viability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cross-circulation systems lack the ability to keep host organisms and extracorporeal organs immunologically separated, leading to immunologic injuries and reduced viability of extracorporeal organs during transplant procedures.
Innovation Solution
An immune-reduced cross-circulation circuit is employed, which includes semipermeable membranes to establish an immunological barrier between the extracorporeal organ and the bioreactor, preventing immune compromising agents from crossing and maintaining physiologic stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cross-circulation system is used to support extracorporeal organs, then organ viability is improved, but immunologic injury occurs due to lack of separation between host and organ immune responses
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-circulation system is segmented into separate compartments: a host chamber containing the bioreactor and an organ chamber containing the extracorporeal organ, connected by a semipermeable membrane. This segmentation physically separates the immune responses while maintaining metabolic exchange, resolving the contradiction between maintaining organ viability and preventing immunologic injury.
Solution Approach 2:
A semipermeable membrane serves as an intermediary barrier between the host chamber and organ chamber. This membrane allows selective passage of molecules while blocking immune cells and large immune complexes, enabling metabolic support to pass through while preventing direct immunologic interaction between host and organ immune responses.
2Use of energy by moving object
If direct cross-circulation is established between bioreactor and extracorporeal organ, then metabolic support is improved, but immune compromising agents cross between systems
Solution Approach 1:
The semipermeable membrane exhibits local quality by having different permeability properties for different substances: it is permeable to small metabolic molecules (glucose, amino acids, oxygen, carbon dioxide) while impermeable to large immune molecules and cells. This selective local quality allows metabolic support to pass through while blocking immune compromising agents.
Solution Approach 2:
The semipermeable membrane utilizes porous material properties with specific pore sizes that allow passage of small metabolic molecules while preventing passage of larger immune cells and proteins. The porous structure provides size-based selectivity, enabling metabolic exchange while filtering out immune compromising agents.
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 immune-reduced cross-circulation circuit effectively maintains separation between immune responses of the bioreactor and the extracorporeal organ, improving the viability and functionality of extracorporeal organs for extended periods, thereby reducing the risk of post-transplant organ failure.
Implementation Method 1
The cross-circulation circuit comprises at least one semipermeable membrane configured to establish an immunological barrier to maintain separation between immune responses of the bioreactor and immune responses of the extracorporeal organ
Data Source
AI summary
A system for maintaining immune separation between an extracorporeal organ and a bioreactor includes an organ chamber holding an extracorporeal organ and a cross-circulation circuit connecting the extracorporeal organ with the bioreactor. The cross-circulation circuit can direct the flow of perfusate therebetween. The bioreactor may include an allogeneic or xenogeneic host organism. for example a swine host. The cross-circulation circuit comprises at least one semipermeable membrane configured to establish an immunologic barrier to maintain separation between the immune responses of the bioreactor and the extracorporeal organ and to maintain physiologic stability of the bioreactor and the extracorporeal organ. The immune-reduced cross-circulation circuit may improve extracorporeal organ viability for research and transplant purposes.