Low-Angle Rotor Attachment for Blood Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional centrifuges are large, expensive, and uncommon, making it difficult for remote or at-home settings to properly separate blood components in small-format blood collection containers, leading to increased hemolysis during handling and transport due to improper separation of blood layers.
Innovation Solution
A rotor attachment for centrifuges that holds small-format blood collection containers at a low or near-zero angle during centrifugation, ensuring that the separated blood components remain aligned orthogonal to the container's major axis, preventing mixing and maintaining separation during transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional centrifuges are used, then proper separation of blood components is achieved, but the equipment is large, expensive, and uncommon making it inaccessible for remote or at-home settings
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the centrifugation system into two parts: a standard centrifuge mechanism and a specialized low-angle rotor attachment. This allows the use of existing centrifuge equipment while adding only the necessary angular adjustment component, making the system accessible for remote settings without requiring complete replacement of expensive conventional equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameter of the centrifuge by modifying the rotor angle from conventional high angles to a low angle (near-zero). This parameter change enables proper alignment of separated blood layers orthogonal to the container's major axis, preventing mixing during transport while using the same centrifuge hardware.
2Productivity
If high-angle centrifugation is used, then centrifugal separation is achieved, but the separated blood layers are not properly aligned causing mixing during handling and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces asymmetry in the rotor design by using a low angle configuration that is specifically optimized for small-format containers. This asymmetric angular positioning ensures that the separation interface aligns orthogonal to the container's major axis, creating a stable configuration that prevents mixing during subsequent handling and transport operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention addresses the stability problem by changing the angular dimension of the rotor attachment. By operating at near-zero angle instead of conventional high angles, the separation interface is oriented differently in space (orthogonal to container axis), which adds dimensional stability to the separation and prevents mixing during 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 low-angle rotor attachment effectively maintains the separation of blood components, reducing hemolysis and ensuring the integrity of the serum for testing, even in remote or at-home settings, by aligning the density layers orthogonal to the axis of rotation and the container's major axis, thus enhancing the robustness of the separation during handling and transport.
Implementation Method 1
A rotor attachment for centrifuges that holds small-format blood collection containers at a low or near-zero angle during centrifugation
Data Source
AI summary
A centrifuge having a rotor attachment for preparing a small-format blood collection tube after blood collection for handling and analysis. The rotor attachment may include two or more small-container holding orifices designed to hold each container in a plane that is normal (or near-normal) to an axis of rotation during centrifuging. That is, the angle at which each small-format container is held during a centrifugation procedure is low (e.g., zero or near-zero). Having a rotor attachment that imparts a small angle or near-zero angle during centrifugation results is solutions being separated in layers that are aligned normal to a vertical axis of the small-format container. This separation into layers in the small-format container is more robust during handling and transport as a mid-level gel exhibits strong cohesion to the inner walls of the small-format containers, thereby maintaining separation between red blood cells as collected and a resident serum.