Apparatus for tissue transport and preservation
Inventors
COLLETTE, Adam • Jessel, Melanie • Anderson, Lisa Maria
Assignees
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Publication Number
US-12178206-B2
Publication Date
2024-12-31
Expiration Date
Abstract
Systems and methods of the invention generally relate to prolonging viability of bodily tissue, especially an organ such as a lung, by adjusting pressure as needed to maintain a constant pressure within the organ even during external pressure fluctuations due, for example, to transportation of the organ in an airplane. Gas passing into and out of the organ may be conditioned to prolong tissue viability.
Core Innovation
The disclosed invention provides a system for transport of a lung in which a pump directs gas into an airway of the lung to inflate a cavity of the lung with gas, where the gas is configured to maintain inflation of the lung. A pressure relief valve releases gas when pressure within the cavity of the lung is above a high-pressure threshold while the pump is directing gas into the airway. A lung adapter provides fluid communication between the pump, the pressure relief valve, and the airway of the lung so that the pressure relief valve and the pump cooperate to maintain a desired internal pressure in the cavity of the lung.
The system couples an airway of the lung to a lung container to form a closed air system in which desired internal pressure in the lung cavity is maintained via the pump and the pressure relief valve. The lung container includes, in fluid communication with the lung adapter, a pump configured to direct gas into the airway to inflate the cavity and a pressure relief valve configured to release gas when cavity pressure exceeds the high-pressure threshold. The disclosed pressure control is described as maintaining a nearly constant internal gauge pressure despite external altitude and cabin pressure fluctuations.
In further disclosed embodiments, the closed air system includes expandable accumulator compliance configured to be higher than lung compliance, enabling the lung pressure behavior to remain flatter than configurations without an accumulator. Gas conditioning for the directed gas is described in connection with oxygenation, cooling, and humidification, together with filtered, sterile nested bag/container interfaces for gas exchange and venting while preventing contamination. The disclosed embodiments also describe emulating pleural pressure via external or internal compression, including a compressive sleeve or inflatable cavity structures, to drive cyclic or pulsatile gas exchange.
Claims Coverage
The partial content includes two independent claims. Across these independent claims, the core inventive features are: maintaining a desired internal pressure in a lung cavity using a pump and a pressure relief valve with a high-pressure threshold, and forming a closed air system via a lung adapter and a lung container that couples to the lung airway.
Pump inflates the lung cavity via airway gas communication
A pump configured to direct gas into an airway of a lung to inflate a cavity of the lung with gas, the gas configured to maintain inflation of the lung.
Pressure relief valve releases gas above high-pressure threshold
A pressure relief valve configured to release gas when pressure within the cavity of the lung is above a high-pressure threshold while the pump is directing gas into the airway of the lung.
Lung adapter provides fluid communication among pump, valve, and airway
A lung adapter configured to be in fluid communication with the pump, the pressure relief valve, and the airway of the lung.
Maintain desired internal cavity pressure using pump and relief valve
The pressure relief valve and the pump are configured to maintain a desired internal pressure in the cavity of the lung.
Couple airway to lung adapter to form a closed air system
Coupling the airway of the lung to the lung adapter to form a closed air system.
The claim coverage centers on transporting a lung by forming a closed air system with a lung adapter, using a pump to inflate the lung cavity and a pressure relief valve to release gas when cavity pressure exceeds a high-pressure threshold, thereby maintaining a desired internal pressure in the lung cavity.
Stated Advantages
Maintains a nearly constant internal gauge pressure despite external altitude/cabin pressure fluctuations.
Makes lung pressure-volume behavior much flatter with an accumulator compared with no accumulator, in PV-based simulations described in the partial content.
Documented Applications
Extracorporeal storage and transport of a lung while preserving inflation using a closed air system with pressure control.
Compatibility with hypothermic machine perfusion described as separating perfusate oxygenation/perfusion from the closed airway-accumulator air system.
Interested in licensing this patent?