Modular blood warmer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood warmers face challenges in preventing soiling of the heat transfer surface and suffer from temperature tracking delays, leading to overshoots in temperature adjustment.
Innovation Solution
A modular blood warmer design featuring an exchangeable conductor with a medium of higher thermal conductivity than air in the intermediate space between heating plates, which ensures quick temperature adjustment and prevents soiling, along with a vibration motor for improved heat transfer and a disinfectant medium for cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If additional hygienic measures such as special materials are used to prevent soiling, then protection against soiling is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is designed as a disposable component that can be easily removed and replaced. After use, the conductor is discarded rather than cleaned, eliminating the need for complex cleaning systems and special anti-soiling materials. This resolves the contradiction by protecting against soiling through disposal rather than through complex preventive measures.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductor is extracted as a separate, removable component from the heating device. This allows the conductor to be easily removed after use and replaced with a fresh one, preventing soiling accumulation without requiring complex cleaning mechanisms or special materials on the heating plates.
2Measurement precision
If the temperature control system adjusts the heating, then temperature control is improved, but time delay causes overshoots in temperature adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal conductivity parameter of the medium between the heating plate and conductor is changed from air (low thermal conductivity) to a medium with higher thermal conductivity. This parameter change reduces the thermal resistance and decreases the time delay in heat transfer, allowing the temperature control system to respond more quickly and accurately without overshoots.
3Ease of operation
If an exchangeable conductor is used to simplify cleaning, then ease of operation is improved, but thermal coupling between conductor and heating plate deteriorates due to rough surfaces and intermediate spaces
Solution Approach 1:
A medium with higher thermal conductivity than air is introduced as an intermediary substance in the intermediate spaces between the heating plate and the conductor. This intermediary fills the gaps created by rough surfaces and improves thermal coupling, resolving the contradiction by maintaining good thermal contact even when the conductor is easily replaceable and surfaces are rough.
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 effectively prevents soiling, reduces temperature tracking delays, and maintains uniform blood temperature without overshoots, while allowing for cost-effective and easy cleaning of the blood warmer.
Implementation Method 1
a medium, which has a higher thermal conductivity than air, is arranged at least partially statically in an intermediate space, which remains between the first and/or the second heating plate and the conductor
Implementation Method 2
along with a vibration motor for improved heat transfer
Data Source
AI summary
A blood warmer (10) has a first heating plate (12) and a second heating plate (14) as well as an exchangeable conductor (18, 20, 22, 24) for blood, which is arranged between the first heating plate (12) and the second heating plate (14). The blood warmer (10) has an inlet (66) and an outlet (68) for blood to which the conductor (18, 20, 22, 24) is fluidically connected. Due to the roughness of the surface (46) of the conductor (18, 20, 22, 24), an intermediate space (50) remains between the first heating plate (12) and/or the second heating plate (14) and the conductor (18, 20, 22, 24). A medium (52), which has a higher thermal conductivity than air, is at least partially statically arranged in the intermediate space (50). The blood warmer (10) may also have an electromechanical oscillating circuit and/or a vibration motor.