Spray Drying Plasma Disposable Alignment System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The availability of human blood plasma is limited in remote and battlefield settings due to storage constraints, and existing spray drying systems face challenges in maintaining alignment and safety during the plasma drying process, leading to potential mechanical malfunctions and biological component breaches.
Innovation Solution
A spray drying system with a multi-point alignment system that includes a locating arrangement with first, second, and third locators, and positioning arrangements to ensure proper alignment and secure attachment of the spray drying disposable device to both the spray drying apparatus and finishing apparatus, providing universal alignment and safety features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a spray drying system is used to produce plasma powder, then plasma availability in remote settings is improved, but alignment maintenance and mechanical integrity become problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into a permanent spray drying apparatus and a disposable device that can be pre-assembled and aligned outside the sterile environment. The disposable device includes separate components (chamber, nozzle, locators) that are assembled together before attachment to the apparatus, allowing alignment to be performed in a non-sterile setting and eliminating alignment issues during actual plasma processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable device is prepared in advance with all alignment features (locators, positioning elements) already in place. The alignment between the disposable device and the apparatus is established before the plasma processing begins, ensuring that no alignment adjustments are needed during the actual operation, thus maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If multiple alignment points are implemented, then system integrity and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locators serve multiple functions: they provide alignment between the disposable device and the apparatus, and they also serve as mechanical interlocking features that secure the disposable device in place. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate alignment and securing mechanisms, thereby reducing overall complexity while maintaining multiple points of alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment features are integrated into the structure of the disposable device components themselves. The locators are formed as integral parts of the chamber assembly, and the positioning elements are built into the nozzle structure. This nesting of alignment features within existing components avoids adding separate alignment mechanisms, thus reducing complexity.
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 alignment system ensures the integrity and safety of the spray drying process, reducing operational challenges and maintaining the structural integrity of the plasma drying system, allowing for efficient production of spray-dried plasma that can be used in emergency situations.
Implementation Method 1
a pressurized aerosol gas source
Implementation Method 2
spray drying liquid plasma, a biological component, into a dried powder plasma
Implementation Method 3
drying liquid plasma, a biological component, into a dried powder plasma
Data Source
AI summary
An alignment system that allows a spray drying disposable to align in both spray drying apparatus and finishing apparatus. The first instance is a locating arrangement wherein a locator is disposed on the spray drying apparatus and/or finishing apparatus and another locator is on the spray drying head of the disposable such that the locators allow for alignment of the disposable with the spray drying apparatus or finishing apparatus. A second instance of an alignment element includes a guide that is offset as positioned on the spray drying head of the disposable. Yet a third instance of the alignment arrangement relates to the gas exhaust port. In a fourth instance, the alignment system includes a positioning arrangement to reversibly attach the outer wall of the disposable to the finishing apparatus. In a fifth and sixth instance, a retaining device that retains the spray drying head in the spray drying apparatus and/or finishing apparatus.