System and method for ventilating an organ
OwnerStuart A. Jacobson, Michael C. Tilley +3inventors
InventorsStuart A. Jacobson, Michael C. Tilley, Steven L. Henning, Joshua Filgate, Daniel S. Karol
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Abstract
A system and method for maintaining the vitality of an organ through negative pressure ventilation and perfusion. The system includes fluidically coupled components: an organ enclosure, a diaphragm enclosure, an actuator/pump, a perfusion system, and a reservoir. The actuator can displace a precise amount of a working fluid that displaces that precise amount of a sterile support fluid. The sterile fluid travels between the diaphragm enclosure and the organ enclosure, thereby ventilating the organ within the organ chamber. The perfusion system circulates a perfusate through the organ.
Claims10
A method for ventilating an organ using negative pressure, the method comprising:
- displacing, by an actuated pump, a first fluid by a first volume, the first fluid being fluidically coupled with a first surface of a flexible membrane, the flexible membrane housed in a diaphragm enclosure, the diaphragm enclosure being fluidically coupled with an organ enclosure;
- and
- displacing, by the flexible membrane, a second fluid by the first volume when the first fluid is displaced, the second fluid being fluidically coupled with a second surface of the flexible membrane,
- wherein the second fluid moving into and out of the organ enclosure causing the organ to expand and contract, forcing air into and out of the organ.
A method for priming an organ enclosure comprising:
- displacing, by an actuated pump, a first fluid by a first volume, the first fluid being fluidically coupled with a first surface of a flexible membrane, the flexible membrane housed in a diaphragm enclosure, the diaphragm enclosure being fluidically coupled with the organ enclosure and a reservoir;
- displacing, by the flexible membrane, a second fluid by the first volume when the first fluid is displaced, the second fluid being fluidically coupled with a second surface of the flexible membrane, the second fluid moving from the reservoir to the organ enclosure;
- detecting, by a sensor, when the organ enclosure is full;
- and
- closing fluidic coupling between the reservoir and the organ enclosure when the organ enclosure is full.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.