Agitating – By movement of support for removable mixing chamber
Patent
1994-03-17
1996-03-26
Jenkins, Robert W.
Agitating
By movement of support for removable mixing chamber
366239, B01F 900
Patent
active
055015212
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a test tube mixing apparatus
When obtaining blood samples, the blood is transferred from the patient to a test tube through a cannula to prevent the blood from being unusable it must immediately be mixed with an anticoagulating agent (as e.g. sodium citrate) which stops the otherwise immediately initiated coagulation of the blood. For the mixing to be effective a test tube, e.g. a vacuum tube, has to be slowly turned at least ten times for the air bubble which is present in the test tube to be able to pass the whole length of the tube. The anticoagulating agent contents within the tube then passes and mixes with the blood contents of the tube. The mixing has to date in accomplished manually, which is carried out in such a way that the sampling personell by hand turns the tube the prescribed at least ten times, controlling at the same time that the air bubble each time passes the whole length of the tube, considering that the personnel taking samples often has to collect samples from a large number of patients, the manual mixing has shown to be an ergonomic problem in that sence that the frequent repeating turning movement is very straining for the wrist and the shoulders. At the same time as carrying out the mixing, the sample collector is also occupied with looking after the patient and possibly filling further test tubes. Since the quality of the sample is entirely dependent on the mixing being carried out in a correct manner, lack of concentration of the personnel leads to unusability of a large number of samples, which therefore has to be obtained again. The reason for this may be that the mixing was initiated too late, that the mixing movement was carried out too fast or that the mixing was not carried out a sufficient number of cycles. Taken together this leads to a deterioration of the quality of the results from the analysis or the unusefulness of the sample.
So called rocking mixer devices for test tubes are previously known, c.f. U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,594. This rocking device is, however, firstly suited for mixing immediately prior to analysis of blood samples where the blood cells have been compacted at the bottom of the test tube after storing or transport. For this object the mixing frequency and durability are not particularly critical, why the known device may be involved with parameters that are unsuitable for the mixing in of an anti-coagulating agent. The presence of external means for regulating the frequency, that are present in this device, further comprises a risk factor to the extent that the operator may alter a carefully tested adjustment. Besides, it does not give any indication of a sufficient mixing being carried out as rocking mixer devices of this kind work with an uninterrupted oscillating movement. This known rocking device is further because of its design with e.g. trays for the tubes, directly unsuitable for use at the sample collecting occasion.
In another previously known mixing device the tubes are fixed in a support which is brought to perform a continously rotating movement. This device is besides being impaired with previously known drawbacks also time consuming to handle and is not usable at the sample collecting occasion.
It is an aim with this invention to overcome the above problems and to provide a mixing device for test tubes, which is simple and flexible to handle, which subject the tubes to an accurate mixing movement, gives a safe indication of the mixing process being effected and is possible to realise in such a size that it may be put on a sample collecting carriage and is thereby easily brought by the sample collecting personell on a sample collecting round, preferably without any connection to an external source of current, and is usable directly at the sample collecting occasion.
These and also other aims are achieved with a mixing device in accordance with the features of the present invention.
By thus the mixing tray for receiving the test tubes being subjected to a rocking motion of a prescribed frequency and with a pres
REFERENCES:
patent: 2834585 (1958-05-01), O'Harenko
patent: 3261594 (1966-07-01), Michel
patent: 4673297 (1987-06-01), Siczek
patent: 4893938 (1990-01-01), Anderson
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