Infusion Bubble Trap with Radial Flow Diverter
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Solution Overview
Problem
During intravenous infusion, natural degassing of chemically incompatible fluids can lead to toxic gas bubbles, posing health risks to patients and healthcare workers, and existing methods for removing these bubbles are inefficient and expose staff to hazardous vapors.
Innovation Solution
A bubble trap apparatus with a chamber, inlet ports, and a diverter that diverts fluid flow radially, preventing bubbles from reaching the outlet and allowing safe venting of gases through a dedicated port, using a hydrophilic membrane to retain gases within a sealed system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a piggyback IV setup with primary and secondary fluids is used, then drug delivery versatility is improved, but bubble formation and gas escape risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
A bubble trap chamber is introduced as an intermediary component between the primary and secondary fluid lines. The chamber receives both fluids through separate inlet ports, allows them to mix and degas in a controlled environment, and captures bubbles before they reach the patient. This mediator device resolves the contradiction by enabling versatile drug delivery while preventing harmful bubble escape.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into separate inlet ports for primary and secondary fluids, allowing independent control and monitoring of each fluid stream. The bubble trap chamber is divided into regions that separate liquid flow from gas accumulation, enabling selective removal of bubbles while maintaining fluid delivery functionality.
2Ease of operation
If manual bubble removal methods are used, then bubble removal capability is improved, but healthcare worker exposure to hazardous vapors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bubble trap chamber serves as a closed intermediary system that performs bubble removal automatically without requiring manual intervention. Bubbles are captured and retained within the sealed chamber, preventing hazardous vapors from escaping to the healthcare worker environment while maintaining ease of operation through automated bubble aspiration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service bubble removal through automated mechanisms. The bubble trap chamber automatically captures, retains, and removes bubbles without requiring manual manipulation by healthcare workers, thereby eliminating exposure risks while maintaining operational effectiveness.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a closed system is used to prevent vapor escape, then healthcare worker safety is improved, but bubble removal efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bubble trap chamber acts as a controlled intermediary space that maintains closed-system integrity to protect healthcare workers while incorporating specific design features (inlet ports, diverters, and outlet ports) that facilitate efficient bubble removal. The chamber mediates between the conflicting requirements of safety and efficiency by providing a sealed environment with dedicated bubble aspiration pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary bubble capture and retention within the closed chamber before final removal. Bubbles are trapped and held in the chamber's upper regions where they can be systematically removed through dedicated outlets, maintaining closed-system protection while ensuring efficient bubble elimination through pre-positioned removal pathways.
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
Effectively prevents the escape of hazardous gases, reducing the risk to patients and healthcare workers by trapping bubbles and allowing safe removal, improving the accuracy and safety of drug delivery during IV infusions.
Implementation Method 1
a flow diverter in the chamber arranged to divert flow from the inlet to have a radial or lateral directional component with respect to a flow direction from the inlet
Implementation Method 2
using a hydrophilic membrane to retain gases within a sealed system
Implementation Method 3
In a body of fluids, the bubble is acted upon by the surrounding forces of pressure and tend to float upwards under buoyancy forces
Implementation Method 4
Bubbles form as pressure of the gas pushes outwards from inside, while the surrounding water molecules tend to stick together and form a membrane
Implementation Method 5
A bubble trap apparatus with a chamber, inlet ports, and a diverter that diverts fluid flow radially, preventing bubbles from reaching the outlet and allowing safe venting of gases through a dedicated port
Data Source
AI summary
A gas trap apparatus (100) is for medical fluids, such as in infusion systems. The apparatus has a chamber (101), an inlet (103) to the bubble entrapment chamber with multiple of inlet ports (104, 105), and an outlet with at least one outlet port (110). The ports and the chamber are arranged to allow mixing of gases from the different fluids and which are trapped in the chamber. The inlet ports merge at a confluence space and the chamber comprises a diffuser with apertures (107) around an inflow tube for inflow of fluids into the chamber with a lateral dimensional component. Where the inlet ports (104, 105) have a diameter in the range of 1.5 mm to 8.0 mm, and the distance between an upper end of a confluence space between the ports (104, 105) and the diffuser apertures (107) is no more than 20 mm. This promotes turbulence as the fluids mix, and this turbulence continues through the diffuser, thereby enhancing bubble formation and hence migration of the gas as bubbles away from the outlet, towards an upper end of the chamber in use.