Plasma retention structure providing internal flow
First Claim
1. An apparatus for separating blood plasma from a whole blood sample having a selected total volume, the sample including a partial volume of blood plasma and a partial volume of hematocrit, the apparatus comprising:
- a body having an inlet port for receiving a whole blood sample, a capillary pathway having an inlet end coupled to the inlet port, the capillary pathway being dimensioned sufficiently small to assure transport of the blood sample including the plasma from the inlet end into the capillary pathway by capillary pressure, at least one partition fixed within the capillary pathway, each partition enclosing a hollow area and including at least one opening defined by confronting surfaces of the partition, each opening leading from the capillary pathway outside a partition to the hollow area within the partition, each opening having a dimension defined by the distance between the confronting surfaces of between about 0.1 and 15 μ
m.
4 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A capillary hematocrit separation structure is included within a housing having a fluid inlet port, a reaction region, and a capillary pathway connecting the inlet port and the reaction region. The capillary pathway is dimensioned so that the driving force for the movement of liquid through the capillary pathway arises from capillary pressure. A plurality of obstructions are fixed in the capillary pathway, each obstruction having a concave portion facing toward the vented reaction region on the down stream side of the obstructions as viewed with reference to a liquid flowing from the inlet port to the reaction region. The capillary pathway in a hematocrit separation structure for a single drop sample size includes about 105 obstructions, each obstruction including a concave portion having a volume of between about 10−4 to 10−5 μl for selectively receiving hematocrit.
62 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for separating blood plasma from a whole blood sample having a selected total volume, the sample including a partial volume of blood plasma and a partial volume of hematocrit, the apparatus comprising:
a body having an inlet port for receiving a whole blood sample, a capillary pathway having an inlet end coupled to the inlet port, the capillary pathway being dimensioned sufficiently small to assure transport of the blood sample including the plasma from the inlet end into the capillary pathway by capillary pressure, at least one partition fixed within the capillary pathway, each partition enclosing a hollow area and including at least one opening defined by confronting surfaces of the partition, each opening leading from the capillary pathway outside a partition to the hollow area within the partition, each opening having a dimension defined by the distance between the confronting surfaces of between about 0.1 and 15 μ
m.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for separating blood plasma from a whole blood sample having a selected total volume, the sample including a partial volume of blood plasma and a partial volume of hematocrit, the apparatus comprising:
a body having an inlet port for receiving a whole blood sample, a capillary pathway having an inlet end coupled to the inlet port, the capillary pathway being defined in part by a first wall, a second wall confronting the first wall and separated therefrom by a distance sufficiently small to assure transport of the blood sample including the plasma between the first and second walls from the inlet end through the capillary pathway by capillary pressure, the capillary pathway including at least one partition projecting from the first wall toward the second wall, each partition enclosing a hollow area and including at least one opening defined by confronting surfaces of the partition, the opening leading from the capillary pathway outside the partition to the hollow area within the partition, the first wall including an aperture through the first wall coincident with the hollow area enclosed by each partition, the apparatus further comprising a backing member coupled to the first wall, the backing member and each aperture defining a chamber, each chamber being coupled to an adjacent hollow area. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
Specification