Device for thawing frozen transfusion material and method therefore
First Claim
1. A device for transferring heat between an article at one temperature and a fluid maintained at another temperature, comprising, in combination:
- a membrane interposed between said fluid and the article, said membrane isolating said fluid from the article such that fluid contact with the article is indirect and temperature change passes through the membrane,and means for pulsing said fluid oriented to impinge the article through the membrane,said fluid pulsing means inducing thermal circulation into the article for better heat transfer.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and device for thawing pouches of frozen transfusion material including a membrane which provides a barrier within an interior of the device with the membrane receiving the pouches of frozen material therewithin. The interior of the device includes a sump having thawing fluid stored therein and maintained at a constant target temperature which is to be achieved by the frozen transfusion material to be thawed. The pouch of material to be thawed, after placement within the membrane, is exposed (through the membrane) to hydrostatic forces associated with the fluid in the sump collapsing the membrane on the pouch while pulsating jets impinge indirectly upon the pouch through the membrane. In this way, as the contents within the pouch thaw, circulation of the fluid within the pouch occurs for more rapid realization of the target temperature for the fluid within the pouch.
113 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A device for transferring heat between an article at one temperature and a fluid maintained at another temperature, comprising, in combination:
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a membrane interposed between said fluid and the article, said membrane isolating said fluid from the article such that fluid contact with the article is indirect and temperature change passes through the membrane, and means for pulsing said fluid oriented to impinge the article through the membrane, said fluid pulsing means inducing thermal circulation into the article for better heat transfer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A device to rapidly thaw frozen transfusion material such as blood, platelets or plasma or tissue or pharmaceutical products such as antibiotics or other thermolabile product to a liquid state for immediate use as in an operation and as needed comprising, in combination:
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a reservoir adapted to receive thawing fluid therein and isolated from the transfusion material by a membrane means, said membrane means interposed between the transfusion material and said reservoir to preclude contact with said thawing fluid, and pulsing means to deliver said thawing fluid against the transfusion material and through said membrane, said pulsing means and said thawing fluid collectively defining a massaging means against the transfusion material to promulgate rapid thawing of the transfusion material by circulating thawed fractions of the transfusion material about still frozen parts of the transfusion material for better heat transfer. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for rapidly thawing transfusion fluid from a frozen state to a transfusion temperature, the steps including:
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pulsing thermal fluid against a pouch containing the frozen transfusion fluid to raise the temperature of the transfusion fluid and circulate within the pouch the transfusion fluid as it thaws, and initially maintaining the thermal fluid at a temperature greater than the temperature of the frozen transfusion fluid but less than or equal to the transfusion temperature. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification