Portable cell growth cassette for use in maintaining and growing biological cells

Apparatus for ex vivo maintaining and growing biological cells, comprising:

• a portable cell growth cassette that includes
• a casing that defines a cell growth chamber configured to carry a quantity of biological cells and a growth medium, the cell growth chamber being part of a sterilizable system that is closed to the external environment, and
• an updatable memory device that stores information relating to the cell growth chamber and/or the biological cells and growth media it carries;
• and
• a first instrument separate from the portable cassette and having an interface to which the cassette can be removably coupled, whereupon the first instrument controllably conditions the cassette during a first stage of its ex vivo maintenance and growth of biological cells, such conditioning including controllably transporting growth media through the cell growth chamber, without exposing the closed, sterilizable system to the external environment, and whereupon the first instrument further updates the updatable memory device with information relating to the condition of the cell growth chamber during that first stage.

A portable cell growth cassette for ex vivo maintaining and growing biological cells, comprising:

• a casing that defines a cell growth chamber configured to carry a quantity of biological cells and a growth medium, the cell growth chamber being part of a sterilizable system that is closed to the external environment;
• and
• a memory device that stores information relating to the desired conditioning of the cell growth chamber over time;
• wherein the portable cassette is configured to be removably coupled to an instrument, separate from the cassette, that retrieves information stored in the memory device and, in response to that retrieved information, controllably conditions the cassette during a predetermined stage of the cassette's ex vivo maintenance and growth of biological cells, such conditioning including controllably transporting growth media through the cell growth chamber, without exposing the closed, sterilizable system to the external environment.

A portable cell growth cassette for ex vivo maintaining and growing biological cells, comprising:

• a casing that defines a cell growth chamber configured to carry a quantity of biological cells and a growth medium, the cell growth cassette being part of a sterilizable system that is closed to the external environment;
• and
• an updatable memory device that stores information relating to the cell growth chamber and to the biological cells and growth media it carries, and/or relating to the condition of the cell growth chamber over time;
• wherein the portable cassette is configured to be removably coupled to an instrument, separate from the cassette, which controllably conditions the cassette during a predetermined stage of the cassette's ex vivo maintenance and growth of biological cells, such conditioning including controllably transporting growth media through the cell growth chamber, without exposing the closed, sterilizable system to the external environment, and which updates the memory device with information relating to the condition of the cassette during the time the cassette is coupled to the instrument.