Apparatus for the large scale growth and packaging of cell suspensions and three-dimensional tissue cultures
First Claim
1. An apparatus, comprisinga plurality of growth chambers comprising flexible front and back sheets bonded together along predetermined boundaries to delimit a first port for the inflow of fluid into said growth chambers, a second port for the outflow of fluid from said growth chambers, and at least one compartment for growth of tissue;
- at least one substrate disposed within each of said plurality of growth chambers designed to facilitate three-dimensional tissue growth on said substrate;
a plurality of spacer members adapted to contact the flexible growth chambers in a manner which maintains even fluid distribution within the chambers, thereby promoting even growth of tissue;
an inlet manifold with an inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports for uniformly providing fluid to the growth chambers, said outlet ports adapted to mate with the first ports of the growth chambers;
an outlet manifold with a plurality of inlet ports, each of said inlet ports adapted to mate with the second ports of the growth chambers; and
a support member for connecting said plurality of spacer members to said inlet and outlet manifolds.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for the large scale culturing and packaging of cell suspensions, three dimensional tissue, and other biological systems is disclosed. The apparatus includes a plurality of flexible or semi-flexible treatment chambers comprising one or more individual culture pockets, a plurality of rigid spacers, an inlet fluid manifold, an outlet fluid manifold, a fluid reservoir, and a means for transporting fluid within the system. During treatment, liquid media is transported from the fluid reservoir to the inlet manifold, which will in turn evenly distribute the media to each of the connected treatment chambers and internal culture pockets. An outlet fluid manifold is also provided to ensure that each treatment chamber is evenly filled and to ensure that any air bubbles formed during treatment are removed from the treatment chambers. The treatment chambers are flexible or semi-flexible so as to provide for easy end-user handling during rinsing and application of the cultured transplants. Due to the flexibility of the treatment chambers, rigid spacers are also provided which ensure even fluid distribution within the chambers during treatment.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising
a plurality of growth chambers comprising flexible front and back sheets bonded together along predetermined boundaries to delimit a first port for the inflow of fluid into said growth chambers, a second port for the outflow of fluid from said growth chambers, and at least one compartment for growth of tissue; -
at least one substrate disposed within each of said plurality of growth chambers designed to facilitate three-dimensional tissue growth on said substrate; a plurality of spacer members adapted to contact the flexible growth chambers in a manner which maintains even fluid distribution within the chambers, thereby promoting even growth of tissue; an inlet manifold with an inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports for uniformly providing fluid to the growth chambers, said outlet ports adapted to mate with the first ports of the growth chambers; an outlet manifold with a plurality of inlet ports, each of said inlet ports adapted to mate with the second ports of the growth chambers; and a support member for connecting said plurality of spacer members to said inlet and outlet manifolds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for promoting the growth of tissue, comprising:
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a plurality of growth chambers defined by flexible front and back walls, said chambers each having a first port and a second port for flow of fluid therethrough; at least one substrate disposed within each of said plurality of growth chambers designed to facilitate three-dimensional tissue growth on said substrate; an inlet manifold with an inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports, each of said outlet ports in fluid communication with one of said first ports of said growth chambers; a supply of fluid in fluid communication with the inlet port of said inlet manifold; fluid transportation means for supplying fluid to the inlet port of said inlet manifold; and an outlet manifold with a plurality of inlet ports, each of said inlet ports in fluid communication with one of said second ports of said growth chambers. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for promoting growth of cells and tissue, comprising a flexible front and back sheet bonded together along predetermined boundaries wherein:
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a plurality of growth chambers are defined by said flexible front and back sheets bonded together along predetermined boundaries, said growth chambers each configured and dimensioned to house cells or tissue substrates; at least one internal passageway is defined by said flexible front and back sheets bonded together along predetermined boundaries, said passageway fluidly connecting said plurality of growth chambers; and an inlet port and an outlet port are defined by said flexible front and back sheets bonded together along predetermined boundaries, said inlet and outlet ports fluidly connected to each of said growth chambers by said at least one internal passageway. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification