Claims
- 1. A method for collecting a plasma fraction from whole blood, the method comprising the steps ofproviding a rotary centrifugation bowl having a rotary axis and a tubular core with a permeable side wall surrounding said axis, said bowl also having a bottom wall and a side wall spaced radially from the core side wall; delivering whole blood via a conduit into the bowl; rotating the bowl about said axis at a speed such that the plasma fraction of the whole blood becomes separated from other more dense components of the whole blood due to centrifugal force and is forced under pressure from the other blood components through the core side wall into the interior of the core while the other blood components remain outside the core; conducting the plasma fraction from the interior of the core while the bowl is rotating; stopping the delivery of whole blood into the bowl and the rotation of the bowl so that the other blood components settle to the bottom of the bowl, and removing the other blood components from the bottom of the bowl.
- 2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the other blood components are removed from the bottom of the bowl via the same conduit that delivered whole blood into the bowl.
- 3. The method defined in claim 1 including initiating the stopping step when the radial accumulation of the other blood components outside the core approaches the core side wall.
- 4. The method defined in claim 1 including the step of, after the removing step, rotating the bowl about said axis to fling away any of said other blood components adhering to the core side wall.
- 5. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said core wall has an interior surface and including the additional step of preventing the other blood components that settle to the bottom of the stopped bowl from contacting the interior surface of the core side wall.
- 6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the preventing step is accomplish by dimensioning the bowl and/or the core so that the level of the other blood components that settle to the bottom of the stopped bowl remains below the core side wall.
- 7. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the preventing step is accomplished by forming the core with a bottom opening and an impermeable re-entrant wall that surrounds said bottom opening and extends within the core.
- 8. Blood processing apparatus for collecting a plasma fraction from whole blood, said apparatus comprisinga header; a centrifugation bowl rotatable relative to the header about an axis, said bowl having a side wall radially spaced from said axis and a bottom wall; a tubular core within said bowl and fixed to rotate therewith, said core having a permeable side wall spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and an open bottom spaced from the bottom wall of the bowl; a fluid inlet passing through the header into the interior of said core, said inlet extending beyond the bottom of the core toward the bottom wall of the bowl; a fluid outlet extending from the interior of the core through the header.
- 9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein the inlet extends along said axis to a location relatively close to the bottom wall of the bowl.
- 10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the bowl is deeper at said axis than at the side wall of the bowl.
- 11. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein the core includes an annular impermeable bottom wall having a central opening that receives said inlet.
- 12. The apparatus defined in claim 11 wherein said bottom wall of the core includes an annular re-entrant portion which surrounds said axis and extends within the core.
- 13. Apparatus for processing blood to separate and collect a selected lower density component thereof from other higher density components of the blood, said apparatus comprisinga centrifugation bowl configured for engagement by a rotary chuck and adapted for rotation about an axis, said bowl having a side wall spaced radially from the axis and a closed bottom; a tubular core having a permeable side wall surrounding said axis within the bowl and fixed to rotate with the bowl, said core wall being spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and having an interior surface; a means for delivering blood into the bowl without contacting the interior surface of the core and for removing any of said other blood components that settle to the bottom of the bowl; and a fluid outlet for conducting the selected blood component from the interior of the core out the bowl.
- 14. The apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein the side wall of the core comprises a filter membrane.
- 15. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein said filter membrane is formed at least in part from a medium having an affinity for one or more types of said other blood components.
- 16. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the filter membrane contains two or more layers.
- 17. The apparatus defined in claim 13 wherein the core side wall has pores whose size is in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 microns.
- 18. Apparatus for processing blood to separate and collect a selected lower density component thereof from other higher density components of the blood, said apparatus comprisinga centrifugation bowl configured for engagement by a rotary chuck and adapted for rotation about an axis, said bowl having a side wall spaced radially from the axis and a closed bottom; a tubular core having a permeable wall surrounding said axis within the bowl and fixed to rotate with the bowl, said core wall being spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and having an interior surface; a fluid inlet for delivering blood into the bowl without contacting the interior surface of the core, the fluid inlet extending along said axis to the bottom of the core, the fluid inlet including conduit means for removing any of said other blood components that settle to the bottom of the bowl, said conduit means constituting an extension of the fluid inlet, said extension extending to a location relatively close to the bottom of the bowl; and a fluid outlet for conducting the selected blood component from the interior of the core out the bowl.
- 19. Apparatus for processing blood to separate and collect a selected lower density component thereof from other higher density components of the blood, said apparatus comprisinga centrifugation bowl configured for engagement by a rotary chuck and adapted for rotation about an axis, said bowl having a side wall spaced radially from the axis and a closed bottom; a tubular core having a permeable wall surrounding said axis within the bowl and fixed to rotate with the bowl, said core wall being spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and having an interior surface, a bottom opening and an impermeable re-entrant wall which surrounds said bottom opening and extends within said core; a means for delivering blood into the bowl without contacting the interior surface of the core and for removing any of said other blood components that settle to the bottom of the bowl; and a fluid outlet for conducting the selected blood component from the interior of the core out the bowl.
- 20. Apparatus for processing blood to separate and collect a selected lower density component thereof from other higher density components of the blood, said apparatus comprisinga centrifugation bowl configured for engagement by a rotary chuck and adapted for rotation about an axis, said bowl having a side wall spaced radially from the axis and a closed bottom; a tubular core having a permeable side wall surrounding said axis within the bowl and fixed to rotate with the bowl, said core wall being spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and having an interior surface, the core side wall including a filter membrane containing two or more layers, each membrane layer having a pore size, the pore sizes of the layers progressively decreasing toward said axis; a means for delivering blood into the bowl without contacting the interior surface of the core and for removing any of said other blood components that settle to the bottom of the bowl; and a fluid outlet for conducting the selected blood component from the interior of the core out the bowl.
- 21. Apparatus for processing blood to separate and collect a selected lower density component thereof from other higher density components of the blood, said apparatus comprisinga centrifugation bowl configured for engagement by a rotary chuck and adapted for rotation about an axis, said bowl having a side wall spaced radially from the axis and a closed bottom; a tubular core having a permeable side wall surrounding said axis within the bowl and fixed to rotate with the bowl, said core wall being spaced opposite the side wall of the bowl and having an interior surface, the core side wall comprising a relatively rigid cylinder having flow channels therethrough and a sleeve-like filter medium encircling the cylinder; a means for delivering blood into the bowl without contacting the interior surface of the core and for removing any of said other blood components that settle to the bottom of the bowl; and a fluid outlet for conducting the selected blood component from the interior of the core out the bowl.
- 22. The apparatus defined in claim 21 wherein the cylinder has a bottom opening and an impermeable re-entrant wall surrounding said bottom opening and extending within the cylinder.
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/325,253, filed Jun. 3, 1999, now abandoned.
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Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/325253 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/879550 |
|
US |