IV Fluid Warmer Heat Exchange Body for Low-Flow Temperature Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IV fluid warming devices face inefficiencies in heat transfer due to flexible plastic walls, leading to heat loss and difficulty in cleaning, especially at low flow rates, where warmed fluids cool down significantly as they travel through IV tubing to the patient.
Innovation Solution
A fluid warming device with a housing, a heat exchange body compartment, and a movable cover that ensures proper pressure for heat transfer, using a heat conducting surface and thermally conductive layers between the heat exchange body and a resistive film heater, along with temperature sensors to adjust power and maintain desired output temperatures, minimizing heat loss through IV tubing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If flexible plastic walls are used in the heat exchange body, then the device is easier to manufacture and assemble, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates and heat loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from flexible plastic to rigid material with superior thermal conductivity. This parameter change directly addresses the heat loss issue while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized rigid component assembly processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining rigid heat exchange walls with flexible sealing elements. The rigid walls ensure efficient heat transfer, while the flexible seals maintain assembly ease and connection integrity, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing ease and heat transfer efficiency.
2Device complexity
If flexible plastic walls are used in the heat exchange body, then the device structure is simpler, but heat transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from flexible plastic to rigid material with superior thermal conductivity. This parameter change directly addresses the heat transfer efficiency issue while maintaining device simplicity through standardized rigid component design.
3Reliability
If the disposable set is inserted into a slot or hinged clam shell configuration, then the heat exchange body is retained securely, but the user cannot see the fluid passing through the heat exchanger
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the housing into a main body and a movable cover that can be opened. This segmentation allows the cover to be positioned open during fluid administration, enabling visual monitoring of fluid flow, while still providing secure retention when closed during transport or storage.
4Reliability
If slots are used to retain the disposable set, then the heat exchange body is retained securely, but cleaning becomes difficult and requires special tools or disassembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the housing into a main body and a movable cover. This segmentation enables easy access to the heat exchange body by simply opening the cover, allowing thorough cleaning without special tools or disassembly, while maintaining secure retention when the cover is closed.
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 device effectively maintains the desired temperature of IV fluids by adjusting power to the heat exchanger based on calculated temperature drops, reducing heat loss and ensuring normothermic fluid delivery even at low flow rates, allowing for easier cleaning and improved user visibility during operation.
Implementation Method 1
The heat exchange body is in thermal contact with a resistive film heater via thermally conductive layers interposed between the heat exchange body and the heater
Implementation Method 2
a resistive film heater
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid warming device may include a housing comprising a main body, a heat exchange body receiving compartment, and a cover movably coupled to the main body between an open position and a closed position; a heater assembly disposed within the main body and having a heat conducting surface disposed proximate the heat exchange body receiving compartment; and a heat exchange body removably disposable in the heat exchange body receiving compartment of the main body and having an input port and an output port to couple the heat exchange body to tubing to flow a fluid to be warmed through the heat exchange body. In another aspect, a fluid warming system increases or decreases power to a heater assembly to adjust the fluid temperature to ensure that the fluid is at an appropriate temperature when it reaches the patient.