US 12,318,524 B2
Portable platelet apheresis system
Lap Man Lee, III, Madison, AL (US); Ketan Harendrakumar Bhatt, Huntsville, AL (US); and Balabhaskar Prabhakarpandian, Madison, AL (US)
Assigned to CFD RESEARCH CORPORATION, Huntsville, AL (US)
Filed by CFD Research Corporation, Huntsville, AL (US)
Filed on May 6, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/313,830.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/022,180, filed on May 8, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0346584 A1, Nov. 11, 2021
Int. Cl. A61M 1/34 (2006.01); A61M 1/36 (2006.01); A61M 1/38 (2006.01); B01L 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 1/3496 (2013.01) [A61M 1/3672 (2013.01); A61M 1/38 (2013.01); B01L 3/50215 (2013.01); A61M 2202/0427 (2013.01); A61M 2205/0244 (2013.01); B01L 2200/026 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0681 (2013.01); B01L 2400/0409 (2013.01)] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A portable platelet apheresis system comprising:
a whole blood inlet configured to receive whole blood from a whole blood source;
an anticoagulant source containing an anticoagulant;
a mixer fluidly coupled with the whole blood inlet and anticoagulant source and configured to mix the whole blood and the anticoagulant;
a whole blood sorter network that includes a whole blood sorter microfluidic network having:
a sorter constricted region having a first cross-sectional dimension;
a sorter expansion region having a second cross-sectional dimension that is larger than the first cross-sectional dimension;
at least one sorter side channel formed into a side of the sorter expansion region; and
at least one sorter outlet that is downstream or medial from the at least one sorter side channel;
at least one platelet concentrator comprising a platelet concentrator microfluidic network configured for concentrating platelets from plasma, each platelet concentrator comprising an inlet fluidly coupled with the at least one sorter side channel;
a platelet poor outlet positioned to receive a platelet poor fraction from each of the at least one sorter outlets; and
a platelet concentrator outlet positioned to receive a concentrated platelet fraction from the platelet concentrator microfluidic network of each of the platelet concentrators.
 
5. The portable platelet apheresis system of claim 1, further comprising the at least one platelet concentrator, wherein each platelet concentrator has the platelet concentrator microfluidic network that includes:
a concentrator constricted region having a third cross-sectional dimension;
a concentrator expansion region having a fourth cross-sectional dimension that is larger than the third cross-sectional dimension;
at least one concentrator side channel formed into a side of the concentrator expansion region;
at least one concentrator outlet that is downstream or medial from the at least one concentrator side channel;
a platelet poor outlet fluidly coupled with the at least one sorter outlet and/or the at least one concentrator side channel; and
a platelet concentrator outlet fluidly coupled with the at least one concentrator side channel.
 
28. A method of separating platelets from whole blood comprising:
providing the portable platelet apheresis system of claim 5;
introducing whole blood into the whole blood inlet;
mixing the whole blood with the anticoagulant;
introducing the whole blood from the mixer into the whole blood sorter;
passing platelets in plasma through the at least one sorter side channel and the at least one platelet concentrator;
collecting separated platelets from the at least one sorter side channel through the at least one platelet concentrator to obtain concentrated platelets in plasma; and
collecting separated white blood cells and red blood cells from the at least one sorter outlet.