Centrifugal liquid processing system

A blood procesing system for centrifugally separating the red blood cell component from whole blood comprising, in combination:

• a processing chamber having first and second closely spaced sidewalls defining an interior chamber having a relatively narrow rounded lower portion, and a relatively wide upper portion including relatively widely spaced shoulder portions;
• inlet means including an inlet port in said chamber for admitting blood to be processed to said chamber;
• outlet means including at least one outlet port in said chamber adjacent at least one of said shoulder portions for deriving the red blood cell component from said chamber;
• and
• means including a rotatably driven carriage for rotating said chamber, said chamber being aligned thereon in a plane generally inclined from the axis of rotation of said carriage with the cylindrical radius of said upper portion smaller than the cylindrical radius of said lower portion whereby the red blood cell component tends to collect in said shoulder portions.

A blood processing system for centrifugally separating red blood cell and platelet components from whole blood comprising, in combination:

• a first processing chamber having first and second closely spaced sidewalls defining an interior chamber having a relatively narrow rounded lower portion, and a relatively wide upper portion including relatively widely spaced shoulder portions;
• means including at least one outlet port in said chamber adjacent at least one of said shoulder portions, and at least one additional outlet port in said chamber intermediate said shoulder portions, and an inlet port, for establishing a fluid flow path through said first chamber;
• a second processing chamber having first and second closely spaced side walls defining a thin interior chamber therebetween;
• means including an inlet port and an outlet port in said second chamber for establishing a fluid flow path therethrough;
• means for introducing whole blood into said first chamber through said inlet port thereof;
• means for establishing fluid communication between said additional outlet port of said first chamber and said inlet port of said second chamber;
• and
• means including a rotatably driven carriage for rotating said first and second chambers, said chambers being aligned thereon in respective planes with at least said first processing chamber being inclined from the axis of rotation of said carriage with the cylindrical radius of the upper portion thereof being smaller than the cylindrical radius of said lower portion thereof;
• and
• means for establishing fluid flow into said first chamber and from said first chamber to said second chamber whereby said red blood cell component tends to collect in said shoulder portions and said platelet component tends to sediment within said second chamber.

In a centrifugal inter-vivos processing system of the type having a rotatably driven carriage for separating the red blood cell and platelet components from whole blood, a fluid flow system comprising:

• a processing chamber having first and second closely spaced side walls defining an interior chamber having a relatively narrow rounded lower portion, and a relatively wide upper portion including relatively widely spaced shoulder portions;
• means including at least one outlet port in said chamber adjacent at least one of said shoulder portions, and at least one additional outlet port in said chamber intermediate said shoulder portions, and an inlet port, for establishing a fluid flow path through said first chamber;
• a second processing chamber having first and second closely spaced side walls defining a thin interior chamber therebetween;
• means including an inlet port and an outlet port in said second chamber for establishing a fluid flow path therethrough;
• means for estblishing fluid communication between said additional outlet port of said first chamber and said inlet port of said second chamber;
• whereby the red blood component tends to collect at shoulder portions within said first chamber and the platelet component tends to sediment in said second chamber when said chambers are mounted for rotation on said carriage in respective planes, with the plane of said first chamber being inclined with repect to a parallel direction with said axis of rotation with the upper end thereof at a smaller cylindrical radial distance than the lower end thereof.