JPS6230782B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to an improved device for separating components of blood by gravitational sedimentation. Blood consists of plasma components and blood cell components such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. In recent years, in blood transfusions, instead of transfusing collected blood as it is, it has become increasingly common to separate the blood into its components and transfuse only the specific components needed by each patient. If blood is allowed to stand still, blood cell components will gradually precipitate and plasma will be separated, but the rate of separation is slow. Therefore, separation methods using centrifuges have been widely adopted in the past, without relying on sedimentation due to gravity. However, this method requires an expensive centrifugal separator, its rotational power, and safety equipment. The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to provide an apparatus that can efficiently separate blood components by the sedimentation effect of gravity without using such artificial centrifugal force. Alternatively, they discovered that blood can be easily separated into multilayered components without using a centrifugal force field by flowing continuously while giving an ascending angle to the flow direction (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 131451/1983). , Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-41822). The inventors of the present invention further conducted intensive studies to obtain a fraction of blood excluding red blood cells using a smaller blood component separation device. The present inventors have discovered that red blood cell aggregates forming a roulet shape based on the invention quickly settle, and have completed the device of the present invention that can efficiently separate blood in a small-area container without placing it in a centrifugal field. I've reached it. That is, the present invention is a blood component separation device constituted by a hard member, which includes a space having a blood inlet, and a space in communication with the space that separates blood into a blood component having a thickness of 20 mm.
A substantially horizontal blood flow channel section partitioned by at least one plate for flowing the blood in a layered form of 1 mm or less, a space section communicating with the downstream side of the flow channel, and a space section provided in this space section. The present invention relates to a blood component separation device characterized by comprising at least two separated blood component discharge ports. The blood flow path used in the present invention should be thin and layered so that blood sedimentation, that is, force from above due to gravity and external force in the blood flow direction, can efficiently act on red blood cells and promote the formation of aggregates. is preferable, and a channel having a thickness of 20 mm or less, more preferably 0.2 to 10 mm, and even more preferably 0.5 to 5 mm is used. It is preferable that the total volume of the blood flow path section consisting of a plurality of flow paths used in the present invention is approximately equal to or larger than the space section having the discharge port for separated blood components. The space having the blood introduction port is for the blood introduced into the device of the present invention to be distributed as evenly as possible into a plurality of flow paths, and may have any shape as long as it achieves this purpose. However, it is desirable that the volume be as small as possible. It is practically desirable that the volume of the device of the invention is at least 50 ml. Furthermore, when this device is used for the purpose of extracorporeal circulation, it is desirable that the volume be 500 ml or less. In order to suitably use the device of the present invention, it is desirable to flow the blood so that the residence time of the blood in the space having the discharge port for the separated blood components of the device is 2 minutes or more. However, if the residence time of the blood is too long, the amount of blood that can be flowed will decrease, and the amount of separated components obtained will decrease, which is not preferable. Desirably, the blood flow is heated to 35-42°C, more preferably 37-40°C. Aggregation of red blood cells is accelerated as the temperature increases, but if the temperature is too high, hemolysis of red blood cells may occur, which is not desirable. The material of the device of the present invention must be hard and not deformed by internal pressure. In addition, the material must be free of toxic eluates and less likely to cause thrombus formation. For these reasons, synthetic resins such as polycarbonate resin, polypropylene resin, polyethylene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, and acrylic resin, and metals such as aluminum and stainless steel can be used. It is also possible to make the outside of the device of the present invention from a soft material such as silicone resin, and to reinforce the periphery with a rigid material, for example a shell made of metal such as aluminum. When using a metal shell, by embedding a heater inside it,
It is also possible to easily heat the blood. In the present invention, the flow path for blood to flow is preferably provided in a substantially horizontal direction or at an upward angle with respect to the flow direction. Although it is desirable that the channel be smooth, it is acceptable even if the channel is rough to some extent. A plurality of flow channels can be easily created by stacking a large number of flat plates at regular intervals. In order to keep the thickness of this channel almost constant, the layered space can be subdivided into several parts by inserting a spacer of an appropriate length or by stacking plates with projections of an appropriate length in advance. It is also one of the preferred embodiments. The apparatus of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the blood component separation device of the present invention, and the front side is shown in cross section so that the inside can be easily seen. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section taken in a vertical plane perpendicular to the length of the device of FIG. In FIG. 1, the container 1 has a space A3 having a blood inlet 2, a flow path 4 communicating with the space A, and a space B8 having discharge ports 6, 7 and communicating with the flow path 4. . The blood is introduced into the space A3 through the inlet 2 with an anticoagulant added thereto, and is then continuously sent into each channel 4. The blood that has exited the flow path 4 is separated into a supernatant layer and a precipitate layer consisting of red blood cells and the like in the space B8. The separated components are continuously discharged from the discharge ports 6 and 7. In order to suppress the mixing of components of the precipitated layer into the discharged supernatant layer, it is desirable to adjust the discharge rate of each component by using a detection means such as an optical method. As described above, the present invention provides a novel device for separating blood into several components by an extremely simple and compact means without applying centrifugal force. platelet plasma,
Components such as red blood cell concentrate blood, granulocyte concentrate blood and platelet rich plasma can be obtained. Furthermore, platelet concentrate and platelet-poor plasma can be obtained from the platelet-rich plasma obtained. Furthermore, by removing substances harmful to the living body from platelet-rich plasma, it is also possible to achieve therapeutic purposes. The method of using the device of the present invention will be explained based on the experimental example using stored blood shown in FIG.
3 is heated in a constant temperature bath 10. The blood in the container 13 is pumped out by the pump 11 and sent into the device 9, and the platelet-rich plasma separated in the device 9 is pumped out by the pump 11 and collected into the platelet-rich plasma collection container 15. When the red blood cell detection means 12 detects an increase in the red blood cell concentration in platelet-rich plasma,
The operation of the pump 11 is stopped. Concentrated red blood cell blood flows out of the device 9 and is collected into a concentrated red blood cell collection container 14. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples. Example 1 A device for separating blood components as shown in FIG. 1 and Table 1 was manufactured using acrylic resin as the container and flat plate for flow path separation, and stainless steel pipes as the blood inlet and outlet. Using this device, we created a blood component separation system as shown in Figure 4, and used heparin to prevent coagulation.
A separation experiment was carried out by pumping pig blood heated to 37°C at a rate of 5.2 ml/min. The results are also shown in Table 1.

[Table] As described in detail above, by using the device of the present invention, not only can blood be separated into multiple components without using centrifugal force, but it can also be easily performed in a narrow hospital room, etc. Therefore, it is extremely useful for plasmapheresis therapy and plasma purification therapy for patients with collagen diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis where increased blood sedimentation is observed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the plasma component separation device of the present invention, with the front section shown in cross section to make the inside easier to understand. FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. This is an example of a cross-sectional view cut along a vertical plane perpendicular to the direction. Figure 3 shows another example of the same cross section as Figure 2. Figure 4 is an experiment of component separation using the apparatus shown in Figure 1. It is a schematic diagram showing an example. 1: Container, 2: Blood introduction port, 3: Space A,
4: Blood flow path, 5: Separation plate for flow path, 6: Outlet, 7: Outlet, 8: Space B, 9: Blood component separation device, 10: Constant temperature chamber, 11: Pump, 12:
Detection means for red blood cells, 13: Storage blood container, 1
4: Concentrated red blood cell collection container, 15: Platelet-rich plasma collection container.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A blood component separation device composed of a hard member, including a space having a blood inlet, and at least one sheet communicating with the space for flowing blood in a layer with a thickness of 20 mm or less. a substantially horizontal blood flow channel partitioned by a plate; a space communicating with the downstream side of the flow channel; and at least two discharge ports for separated blood components provided in this space. A blood component separation device characterized by comprising: