METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR HEATING AND/OR THAWING BLOOD PRODUCTS

• US 20120122072A1
• Filed: 11/10/2009
• Published: 05/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Goji Limited
• Original Assignee: RF Dynamics Ltd.
• Inventors: Bilchinsky, Alexander, Ben-Shmuel, Eran, Atzmony, Daniella, Karnieli, Ohard
• Application Number:
  US13/128,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20120122072A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/2
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/6447 Method of operation or details of the microwave heating apparatus related to the use of detectors or sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/664 Aspects related to the power supply of the microwave heating apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/68 for monitoring or control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/687 for cooking
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 for thawing
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/70 Feed lines
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/705 using microwave tuning
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers

Abstract

A device for heating one or more blood product units using electromagnetic (EM) energy is disclosed. The device comprises a chamber sized and shaped for containing at least one frozen blood product unit, a dielectric heating unit for applying electromagnetic (EM) energy at a plurality of frequencies to the at least one blood product unit, and a controller for operating the dielectric heating unit to heat the at least one frozen blood product unit to about a body temperature in less than 3 minutes according to a heating pattern.

Claims

1-55. -55. (canceled)

56. A device for heating at least one blood product unit using electromagnetic (EM) energy, comprising:

a chamber for containing at least one frozen blood product unit;

a dielectric heating unit which applies electromagnetic (EM) energy to said at least one frozen blood product unit; and

a controller, which operates said dielectric heating unit to heat said at least one frozen blood product unit to about a body temperature according to a heating pattern, at a plurality of radio frequencies.

57. The device of claim 56, wherein the controller is configured to operate said dielectric heating unit to heat said at least one frozen blood product unit to about a body temperature in less than 3 minute according to a heating pattern.

60. The device of claim 56, wherein said device is sized for being installed in a member of a group consisting of:

an ambulance, an operating room, and an emergency room.

78. The device of claim 56, wherein the heating pattern is determined by an analysis of absorption of different frequencies in the blood product unit.

79. The device of claim 78, wherein analysis comprises defining transmission frequencies and amount of energy to be transmitted at each frequency, based on spectral information.

80. The device of claim 56, wherein power levels of transmitted frequencies are inversely related to energy dissipation at the same frequencies.

81. The device of claim 56, wherein said heating pattern is dynamically determined according to absorption of different frequencies in said blood product unit.

86. The device of claim 56, wherein the controller is configured for operating said dielectric heating unit to heat said at least one frozen blood product unit to about a body temperature in less than 3 minutes according to a heating pattern.

58. A device for heating a blood product unit by applying electromagnetic (EM) energy, comprising:

a chamber for containing at least one cooled blood product unit having a temperature above 0°

C. and below 15°

C.;

a dielectric heating unit for applying electromagnetic (EM) energy to said at least one cooled blood product unit; and

a controller for operating said dielectric heating unit to heat said at least one cooled blood product unit to about a body temperature according to a heating pattern, at a plurality of radio frequencies.

59. The device of claim 58, wherein said controller is configured for operating said dielectric heating unit to heat said at least one cooled blood product unit uniformly to about a body temperature in 20 seconds or less according to a heating pattern.

87. The device of claim 58, wherein said device is sized for being installed in a member of a group consisting of:

an ambulance, an operating room, and an emergency room.

61. A method of heating at least one frozen blood product unit placed in a chamber by applying electromagnetic (EM) energy, comprising:

(a) thawing said at least one frozen blood product unit by applying EM energy to said at least one blood product unit at a plurality of different radio frequencies; and

(b) heating said at least one frozen blood product unit in said chamber to about a body temperature by applying said EM energy.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein said thawing and said heating are performed cumulatively in less than 3 minute.

63. The method of claim 61, wherein said EM energy is at a plurality of frequencies.

64. The method of claim 63, comprising selecting a maximum power to be dissipated in the at least one frozen blood product unit in a manner which avoids overheating, wherein said EM energy is below said maximum power at all said plurality of different frequencies.

65. The method of claim 61, comprising gathering data pertaining to at least one of said thawing, and said heating during at least one of said thawing and said heating and scoring the quality of said at least one frozen blood product unit according to said data.

66. The method of claim 61, comprising tagging each said at least one frozen blood product unit with a respective quality score according to said scoring.

67. The method of claim 61, comprising reading instructions from at least one tag attached to said at least one frozen blood product unit and performing at least one of said thawing and said heating according to said instructions.

68. The method of claim 61, wherein said at least one frozen blood product unit is a frozen plasma unit.

82. The method of claim 61, wherein heating is according to a heating pattern determined by an analysis of absorption of different frequencies in said blood product unit.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein the analysis comprises defining transmission frequencies and amount of energy to be transmitted at each frequency, based on spectral information.

84. The method of claim 61, wherein power levels of transmitted frequencies are inversely related to energy dissipation at the same frequencies.

85. The method of claim 61, wherein heating is according to a heating pattern dynamically determined according to absorption of different frequencies in said blood product unit.

88. The method of claim 63, wherein the plurality of frequencies is a plurality of radio frequencies.

69. A method for heating a plurality of blood product units placed in a chamber using electromagnetic (EM) energy, comprising:

applying EM energy to said plurality of blood product units;

measuring a temperature of each said blood product units; and

ending said applying when the temperature of each said blood product unit is above a minimum threshold.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein said ending is performed automatically.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein said minimum threshold is 25°

C. or more.

72. The method of claim 69, wherein said ending comprises ending said applying when the temperature of any of said blood product unit is above a maximum threshold.

73. A method for thawing a blood product unit placed in a chamber using electromagnetic (EM) energy, comprising:

applying EM energy to said blood product unit at a time when said blood product unit comprises frozen and thawed portions; and

ending said applying when the temperature of all portions of said blood product unit is between 2°

C. and 15°

C.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein during the process the temperature of no part of the blood product exceeds 40°

C.

75. A method for managing blood product unit supply, comprising:

receiving a request for supply of at least one frozen plasma unit and at least one cooled blood cells unit;

heating one or more cooled blood cells units and one or more frozen plasma units to about a body temperature cumulatively in less than 3 minutes by applying electromagnetic (EM) energy at a plurality of radio frequencies; and

jointly transferring at least one of the one or more blood cells units and at least one of the one or more plasma units according to the request.

76. The method of claim 75, comprising performing said heating in a member of a group consisting of:

an ambulance, an operating room, and an emergency room.

77. The method of claim 75, wherein said heating comprises automatically acquiring said frozen plasma unit and said cooled blood cells unit from a freezing storage and automatically placing said frozen plasma unit and said cooled blood cells unit in a heating chamber, said applying being performed in said heating chamber.