Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators – With means for exchanging heat – Comprising or including means for cooling
Patent
1981-02-04
1983-02-08
Jenkins, Robert W.
Imperforate bowl: centrifugal separators
With means for exchanging heat
Comprising or including means for cooling
422101, 494 18, B04B 1100
Patent
active
043724841
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates in general to a device for the separation of a liquid into fractions having different densities. Especially, this invention relates to a device for the separation of whole blood into for example red cells and plasma.
Conveniently, the present device is of the kind that is connectable to a patient to permit the whole blood to be continuously withdrawn from said patient, to be conducted through said device and then to be reinfused into said patient. During the passage through said device said whole blood is separated into for example red cells and plasma. For example said red cells are reinfused into a patient, while said plasma is separately collected.
To the above end the present device comprises a rotatable separation unit comprising a separation chamber, and a transferring element in fluid communication with said chamber.
BACKGROUND ART
To facilitate the understanding of the present invention it may be convenient to first illustrate the nature and character of whole blood. This should however not constitute a limitation of the present invention, but should rather be taken as a convenient instrument to understand the present invention when used in one of its more special fields of use.
Whole blood is a tissue consisting of cells suspended in plasma. Said cells constitute about 45% by volume, while the remaining 55% constitutes plasma. Said suspended blood cells comprise inter alia red cells, white cells and thrombocytes. By means of the present device it is possible not only to separate cells from plasma, but also to separate said several cells from each other into separate cell fractions (so-called cytapheresis) if desired. Said separate fractions of said whole blood may be used independently for different purposes. For example said white cells are of particular concern for blood research, immunological studies and for clinical use in transplantations of organs. Furthermore, said white cells may be used for support therapy by cancer patients, the white cells of which in one or another respect have been destroyed through different anti-cancer drugs.
The red cells as well as the plasma are of particular concern for transfusion purposes.
Known devices for the separation of whole blood into different components have under favorable conditions provided a sufficient separation, but have, on the other hand, had drawbacks sometimes entailing fatal consequences for said whole blood and said separated components. The main reason has been the rotating coupling which normally is used to connect the transferring element to the rotating separation unit. Through the heat of friction which is created in rotating couplings in the contact surface between a stationary and a rotating element, said whole blood has been exposed to large temperature increases during its passage into the separation chamber. This is also true for the separated blood fractions when said fractions have passed the rotating coupling during egress from said separation unit. Even though said problem to some extent has been solved by cooling said rotating coupling with a cooling fluid, it still remains as being not completely solved.
Another drawback by said known devices, which use rotating couplings, is that blood cells may be damaged due to shear-stresses at the contact area between surfaces moving relative to each other.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device of the above-mentioned kind, i.e. a device which is similar to said known devices for the separation of whole blood into fractions having different densities, which uses a rotating separation unit comprising a separation chamber, and a transferring element in fluid communication with said chamber. The present device, on the contrary, does not use rotating couplings to connect the separation unit to the transferring element.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present device comprises a rotatable separation unit comprising a separation chamber, and a transferring element in fluid communication with said chamber. Said device is
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patent: 3856669 (1974-12-01), Bowman
patent: 3885735 (1975-05-01), Westbert
patent: 3986442 (1976-10-01), Khoja
patent: 4114802 (1978-09-01), Brown
Boberg Nils G. E.
Gullberg Claes-Ake
Larsson Lars-Ake L.
Stenberg Kaj
Gambro AB
Jenkins Robert W.
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