Apparatus and method for receiving, storing and distributing blood bags

• US 8,113,007 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2004
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Angelantoni Life Science SRL (Angelantoni Family)
• Original Assignee: Angelantoni Industrie SpA
• Inventors: Zenobi, Mauro, Ventura, Simone, Neri, Cristiana
• Primary Examiner(s): Tyler, Cheryl J
• Assistant Examiner(s): KOAGEL, JONATHAN BRYAN
• Application Number:
  US11/575,984
• Publication Number:
  US 20080104993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,694 Days
• Field of Search: 62/62, 624/40, 235/383
• US Class Current: 62/62
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/369 Temperature treatment

Abstract

Method and apparatus (1) for receiving, storing and distributing blood bags including a cabinet (2) for containing all the components of the apparatus (1); a refrigerated space (21) for containing the bags; a magazine (3) housed inside the refrigerated space (21) comprising a plurality of cells (31), each capable of containing a single bag, each of the cells being identified by a cell code. The apparatus (1) further includes a data processing system (7) housed inside the cabinet (2), capable of controlling a movement system (5) and a cooling system (6) each housed inside the cabinet (2), and capable of controlling the receiving, the preservation and the releasing of the bags, and capable of exchanging data from and to an external data-management system (17) with which the apparatus (1) can interact.

Claims

1. A method for receiving, preserving and releasing blood bags in a temperature and closure controlled apparatus having a plurality of cells each capable of containing a single bag and provided with a movement system permitting controlled access to only one cell at a time and with at least an interface for interacting with an user, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing the blood bags with coded-identification means which also comprise data concerning the blood contained in the same bag;

wherein in a receiving stage,

(b) before receiving in said apparatus a bag, obtaining from said coded-identification means the data concerning the blood contained in the bag and storing them in a memory,

(c) exchanging the data concerning the blood contained in the bag with a data-management system external to said apparatus, and

(d) allowing an user to insert the bag in an empty cell of the plurality; and

wherein in a releasing stage, before permitting a specific bag of blood to be drawn from said apparatus,

(e) providing the user with a coded request that is separate from an user acknowledgement for interacting with the interface, the code request being univocally associated with such specific bag of blood, the coded request being emitted on a basis of data contained in the external data-management system and referring to such specific bag of blood,

(f) checking the coded request, and

(g) enabling the movement system of the apparatus to allow the user to draw the specific bag of blood only from the cell containing the bag of blood as specified according to the coded request.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operations on said apparatus, in particular the drawing or the storing of bags, are subordinate to a procedure for acknowledgment of the user through said interface.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said procedure for acknowledgment involves the inserting of a key-word.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the data concerning the blood contained in the bag are cross-checked with corresponding data present in the external data-management system.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising for the drawing of the bag the steps of:

(a) performing a reading of the code of the request and cross-checking the validity of the request itself by asking an acknowledgment to the external data-management system; and

(b) only after receiving an affirmative acknowledgment, calling for the reading of the coded-identification means and cross-checking with a code previously acquired from the request enabling the user to conclude the drawing on the basis of the result of the cross-check.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data concerning the blood contained in the bag are used to check the compatibility of the blood with a patient to whom the bag is going to be delivered by checking said data in the external data-management system.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data concerning the blood contained in the bag are used to check the blood'"'"'s expiry date.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data concerning the blood contained in the bag are used to arrange the bags inside said apparatus in accordance with blood type, expiry date, destination and intended use of the blood.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data concerning both particular blood type and the bags containing it are used to generate a signal of lack of bags and/or to identify a minimum supply of bags containing blood of said blood type.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the drawing of a bag whose blood type belongs to said minimum supply is denied.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein two or more apparatuses are linkable together in order to exchange data concerning the blood contained in the apparatuses.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein from a remote apparatus another apparatus is remotely monitored and/or controlled and/or an operator thereof is guided.

13. A method for receiving, preserving and releasing blood bags in a temperature and closure controlled apparatus having a plurality of cells each capable of containing a single bag and provided with a movement system permitting controlled access to only one cell at a time and with at least an interface for interacting with an user, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing the blood bags with coded-identification means which also comprise data concerning the blood contained in the same bag;

wherein in a receiving stage,

(b) before receiving in said apparatus a bag, obtaining from said coded-identification means the data concerning the blood contained in the bag and storing them in a memory,

(c) exchanging the data concerning the blood contained in the bag with a data-management system external to said apparatus, and

(d) allowing an user to insert the bag in an empty cell of the plurality; and

wherein in a releasing stage, before permitting a specific bag of blood to be drawn from said apparatus,

(e) providing the user with a coded request that is separate from an user acknowledgement for interacting with the interface, the code request being univocally associated with such specific bag of blood, the coded request being emitted on a basis of data contained in the external data-management system and referring to such specific bag of blood,

(f) performing a reading of the code of the request and cross-checking the validity of the request itself by asking for an acknowledgement from the external data-management system, and

only upon receiving an affirmative acknowledgement,

(g) enabling the movement system of the apparatus to allow the user to draw the specific bag of blood only from the cell containing the bag of blood as specified according to the coded request, and

(h) calling for reading of the coded-identification means on the drawn bag and cross-checking with a code previously acquired from the coded request enabling the user to conclude drawing the specific bag of blood on basis of result of the cross-check.