Permeable Bag Fluid Concentration via Reduced Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for concentrating fluids with particulate material in a liquid medium, such as blood centrifugation, are cumbersome, expensive, and can lead to cell lysis or leukocyte activation, and do not efficiently recover valuable liquid media like blood plasma.
Innovation Solution
A fluid concentration device comprising an impermeable outer bag and a permeable inner bag with a porous material that allows liquid medium to pass through while retaining particulate material, connected to a source of reduced pressure, enabling easy recovery of the liquid medium and concentration of particulate material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If centrifugation is used to separate blood cells from plasma, then separation efficiency is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into an outer bag containing the fluid mixture and an inner permeable bag containing absorbent material. This segmentation allows separation functionality to be achieved through simple bag structures rather than complex centrifugal mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between separation efficiency and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The permeable bag acts as an intermediary element between the outer bag containing blood and the absorbent material inside. It selectively allows plasma to pass through while retaining blood cells, achieving efficient separation without requiring complex centrifugation equipment.
2Productivity
If centrifugation is used to concentrate blood cells, then concentration efficiency is improved, but harmful effects on blood cells increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical centrifugal force system is replaced with a passive filtration system using a permeable bag and absorbent material. Blood cells are concentrated through selective permeability and absorption rather than mechanical spinning, eliminating shear stress and preventing cell lysis while maintaining concentration efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the separation parameter from mechanical force (centrifugation) to physical/chemical properties (permeability and absorption). The permeable bag's pore size and the absorbent material's properties enable selective passage of plasma while retaining intact blood cells, avoiding mechanical damage.
3Productivity
If absorbent material is used to remove liquid medium, then liquid removal efficiency is improved, but liquid recovery difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The permeable bag serves as an intermediary containment structure that holds the absorbent material while allowing liquid to pass through. This intermediary structure enables efficient liquid removal via absorption while simultaneously providing a clear pathway for liquid collection and recovery outside the bag, resolving the contradiction between removal efficiency and recovery ease.
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
Provides a simple, inexpensive, and effective means to concentrate fluids by allowing easy recovery of the liquid medium, reducing the risk of cell damage, and maintaining the integrity of the particulate material, particularly useful in producing blood cell concentrates from whole blood.
Implementation Method 1
the permeable material allows the liquid medium, but not the particulate material, to pass into the inner bag
Implementation Method 2
applying a pressure differential across the permeable material of the inner bag, such that blood plasma is drawn through the permeable material
Data Source
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AI summary
Devices for concentrating fluids that comprise discrete or particulate material dispersed in a liquid medium, such as whole blood, by removal of a proportion of the liquid medium, and a method of producing blood cell concentrates from whole blood using reduced pressure. The devices comprise an outer bag formed of an impermeable material and an inner bag formed of a permeable material, the inner bag being adapted for connection to a source of reduced pressure.