Thawing biological material using a sealed liquid bladder
AssigneeCytotherm, L.P.
InventorRoman Kuzyk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for thawing and heating biological material such as plasma, bone marrow or stem cells. The apparatus includes a housing containing a fluid-filled, sealed bladder for receiving a bag of the biological material. An agitator is provided which is operable to inflate an actuator pillow causing a support plate to compress the fluid-filled bladder, thereby promoting movement of the fluid within the bladder to agitate the biological material. A heater is provided which heats the fluid while contained in the bladder.
Claims31
An apparatus for thawing frozen material in a container comprising:
- A) a housing for receiving the container of frozen material;
- B) a sealed fluid-filled bladder contained within the housing for thermally communicating with the container of frozen material;
- C) an agitator in the housing for causing movement of the fluid-filled bladder and the container of frozen material communicating with the bladder, wherein the agitator comprises an inflatable and deflatable actuator pillow communicating with the sealed bladder to effect movement of the bladder to thereby move the container of frozen material in communication with the bladder;
- and
- D) a heater positioned within the housing external of the bladder to heat the fluid in the fluid-filled bladder while the fluid is contained within the sealed bladder to thaw the frozen material in the container.
An apparatus for thawing frozen material in a container comprising:
- A) a housing for receiving the container of frozen material;
- B) a sealed fluid-filled bladder contained within the housing for thermally communicating with the container of frozen material;
- C) an agitator in the housing for causing movement of the fluid-filled bladder and the container of frozen material communicating with the bladder;
- and
- D) a heater positioned within the housing external of the bladder to heat the fluid in the fluid-filled bladder while the fluid is contained within the sealed bladder to thaw the frozen material in the container;
- wherein the bladder includes a first section and a second section, and wherein said first and second sections are connected by at least two valves, one valve permitting fluid flow from the first section to the second section and the other valve permitting fluid flow from the second section to the first section.
An apparatus for thawing frozen material in a container comprising:
- A) a housing for receiving the container of frozen material;
- B) a sealed fluid-filled bladder contained within the housing for thermally communicating with the container of frozen material;
- C) an agitator in the housing for causing movement of the fluid-filled bladder and the container of frozen material communicating with the bladder;
- and
- D) a heater positioned within the housing external of the bladder to heat the fluid in the fluid-filled bladder while the fluid is contained within the sealed bladder to thaw the frozen material in the container;
- wherein the fluid-filled bladder includes four chambers for the circulation of the fluid therethrough.
An apparatus for thawing frozen material in a container comprising:
- A) a housing for receiving the container of frozen material;
- B) a sealed fluid-filled bladder contained within the housing for thermally communicating with the container of frozen material;
- C) an agitator in the housing for causing movement of the fluid-filled bladder and the container of frozen material communicating with the bladder;
- and
- D) a heater positioned within the housing external of the bladder to heat the fluid in the fluid-filled bladder while the fluid is contained within the sealed bladder to thaw the frozen material in the container;
- wherein the bladder has multiple chambers and wherein the agitator is activated to cause contraction of one of the chambers of the bladder, thereby effecting movement of fluid from the contracted chamber through at least one check valve into at least one other chamber of the bladder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.