Structured Gas Transfer Membrane for Reduced Flow Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas transfer devices, particularly in medical and biotechnological applications, face challenges such as foaming issues, thrombosis, and short shelf life, which hinder effective and long-term gas exchange and durability.
Innovation Solution
A gas transfer device with a structured membrane, featuring channels and branches with spacings of ≤ 500 µm, accounts for at least 50% of the membrane surface, enhancing diffusion and reducing flow resistance, and is made from materials like polymethylpentene for improved gas permeability and biocompatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a large membrane surface is provided to achieve effective gas exchange, then gas exchange efficiency is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional flat membrane to a three-dimensional structured membrane with channels and branches protruding into the chambers. This vertical dimension multiplication increases the effective gas exchange surface area without proportionally increasing the device footprint, resolving the contradiction between gas exchange efficiency and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane is segmented into multiple functional zones with channels and branches of different sizes and orientations. This segmentation creates a hierarchical structure that optimizes gas transfer pathways while distributing the overall surface area requirement across multiple smaller structures, reducing the complexity of any single membrane region.
2Productivity
If diffusion through the membrane is increased by raising oxygen pressure or changing blood flow properties, then gas exchange is improved, but potential blood damage and thrombosis risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality variations through channels and branches of different dimensions, orientations, and depths at different locations on the membrane. This creates localized regions with optimized flow characteristics and gas transfer properties, allowing high gas exchange rates in specific areas while maintaining gentler flow conditions in other regions to minimize blood damage and thrombosis risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The structured membrane changes the physical parameters of the membrane surface by introducing three-dimensional features that modify flow patterns and concentration gradients. These parameter changes enable enhanced gas exchange through improved mass transfer coefficients and reduced diffusion path lengths, achieving higher gas exchange rates without requiring increased oxygen pressure or aggressive flow conditions.
3Productivity
If conventional membranes are used for gas exchange, then initial gas transfer is achieved, but shelf life is short limiting long-term use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite membrane structures combining different materials with complementary properties. The structured membrane integrates materials that provide both excellent gas transfer performance and superior long-term stability, creating a composite system where the synergistic effects of the constituent materials extend shelf life while maintaining high gas exchange rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The structured membrane design incorporates features that prevent degradation mechanisms from the outset. The three-dimensional structure reduces mechanical stress concentration, the channel architecture prevents fouling accumulation, and the material selection includes inherent resistance to degradation, thereby cushioning against factors that would otherwise limit shelf life and enabling long-term operation.
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 structured membrane design improves gas exchange efficiency and durability, reducing the need for large membrane surfaces and minimizing blood damage, while extending the device's shelf life for long-term use in medical applications.
Implementation Method 1
The gas exchange takes place on the gas-permeable membrane primarily via diffusion due to partial pressure differences in the gases involved
Implementation Method 2
the membrane enabling particularly effective gas exchange due to its structuring, in particular between a liquid phase and a gaseous phase
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a gas transfer device, having at least two chambers and at least one gas-permeable and liquid-permeable membrane (1), wherein the chambers are separated from each other by the membrane(s), and wherein the membrane(s) is structured on at least one side, and channels (5) and/or ramifications, particularly ramified paths, are formed on the membrane (1) by this structure, the walls of said channels having a separation distance (6) of = 500 µm, preferably = 350 µm, more preferably =150 µm, and the fraction of the membrane surface which has channels and/or ramifications with this separation distance comprising at least 50% of the entire surface of the membrane.