Plasma concentrator device

• US 20060175268A1
• Filed: 01/30/2006
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanuman, LLC, Biomet Biologics LLC (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hanuman, LLC, Cell Factor Technologies, Inc. (Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Storrs, Richard Wood, Leach, Michael D., Dorian, Randel
• Granted Patent: US 7,553,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/781
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/0204 Blood stirrers, e.g. for defibrination
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3679 by absorption A61M1/3675 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3693 using separation based on different densities of components, e.g. centrifuging
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/0415 Plasma
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25375 Liberation or purification of sample or separation of material from a sample [e.g., filtering, centrifuging, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/255 including use of a solid sorbent, semipermeable membrane, or liquid extraction

Abstract

A plasma concentrator of this invention having a concentrator chamber, concentrator gel beads, a filter, and an agitator. The agitator has agitator blades extending outwardly from the lower end. The agitator end is positioned in the concentrator chamber and supported for rotation about its central axis and for reciprocal movement along its central axis. The concentrator has a top with an upper opening through which the upper end of the actuator stem extends, and a lower opening in which the filter is positioned. The concentrator chamber can have a cylindrical inner wall, and the agitator blades can have an outer edge in close proximity to the inner wall with the space between the outer edge and the inner wall being less than the diameter of the gel beads. The filter is selected to block effective flow of plasma therethrough under ambient gravity conditions and permit plasma and plasma concentrate flow therethrough under centrifugal forces of the separation gravity. The method concentrates plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma. The plasma is introduced into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator. Then water is removed from the plasma while stirring the beads to reduce plasma polarization and breaking up clumps of beads that form during the agitation. Then centrifugal force can be applied to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads.

Claims

1. A plasma concentrator comprising a concentrator chamber, a plurality of concentrator gel beads in the concentrator chamber, a filter, and an agitator,

the agitator comprising an actuator stem having an upper agitator end and a lower agitator end, agitator blades extending outwardly from the lower end, the lower agitator end being positioned in the concentrator chamber and supported for rotation about its central axis and for reciprocal movement along its central axis, and

the concentrator having a top with an upper opening through which the upper end of the actuator stem extends, and a lower opening in which the filter is positioned.

2. The plasma concentrator of claim 1 wherein the concentrator chamber has a cylindrical inner wall, agitator blades having an outer edge in close proximity to the inner wall with the space between the outer edge and the inner wall being less than the diameter of the gel beads.

3. The plasma concentrator of claim 1 wherein the upper opening of the concentrator includes a stop sleeve extending from the top of the concentrator into the concentrator chamber, the stop sleeve having a lower abutment surface, and the agitator stem has stop projections that extend outward beyond the diameter of the strop sleeve, the upper surfaces of the stop projections constituting abutment surfaces positioned to stop upward axial movement of the agitator when contacting the lower abutment surface of the stop sleeve.

4. The plasma concentrator of claim 3 wherein the filter has an upper surface and the agitator blades have a lower portion that contacts the upper surface of the filter and is positioned for sweeping the upper surface during rotation of the agitator and for making impact with the upper surface during downward movement of the agitator along its central axis, the downward motion of the blades during the reciprocal movement of the agitator being arrested by abutment with the upper surface of the filter.

5. The plasma concentrator of claim 1 wherein the filter blocks effective flow of plasma therethrough under ambient gravity conditions and permits free plasma concentrate flow therethrough under centrifugal forces at the separation gravity.

6. The plasma concentrator of claim 5 wherein the separation gravity is greater than 10 g'"'"'s.

7. The plasma concentrator of claim 1 wherein the plasma concentrator is combined with a plasma concentrate outlet conduit and a plasma concentrate reservoir with an upper opening in communication with the filter and positioned to receive plasma concentrate passing through the filter, the plasma concentrator having a sloping floor and a sump at the lowest end of the floor, one end of the plasma concentrate outlet conduit communicating with the sump.

8. A method for concentrating plasma by removing water without significantly denaturing the fibrinogen in the plasma, the method including the steps of

a) introducing the plasma into a concentration chamber containing a plurality of dehydrated concentrator gel beads and an agitator,

b) removing water from the plasma until the plasma has a protein concentration greater than 1.5 times the protein concentration of the untreated plasma while:

i) moving the agitator to stir the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and

ii) moving the agitator to break up clumps of beads that form during the agitation; and

d) applying centrifugal force to the concentrated plasma in an amount sufficient to separate a substantial portion of the plasma concentrate from the beads.

9. The method for concentrating plasma of claim 8 wherein the concentration chamber contains an agitator having agitator blades extending outwardly from its lower end, wherein the agitator is supported for rotation about its central axis and for reciprocal movement along its central axis,

wherein the agitator is rotated to stir the beads while they are absorbing water from the plasma to reduce plasma polarization, and the agitator is moved along its central axis in a reciprocal motion to break up clumps of beads that form during the agitation.

10. The method for concentrating plasma of claim 9 wherein the agitator blades rest on the upper surface of a filter, the agitator blades have a lower portion that sweeps the upper surface of the filter during rotation, and impacts the upper surface of the filter during reciprocal motion of the agitator along its central axis,

wherein the agitator is rotated to sweep the upper surface of the filter and stirring beads resting thereupon to reduce plasma polarization, and the agitator is moved in a reciprocal motion to impact the upper surface of the filter and bead clumps forming on the surface during the stirring.

11. The method for concentrating plasma of claim 10 wherein the filter has a pores that block effective flow of plasma therethrough under ambient gravity conditions and permits plasma and plasma concentrate therethrough under forces of the separation gravity.