Blood Flow Solutions

Whole blood collected from donation sites has a maximum shelf life of 35 days when refrigerated, depending on the anticoagulant used. Attempts to preserve blood with citrate reactions and ion-exchange methodologies have been explored since 1944, but no single system exists to compartmentalize this reaction. The objective of this project is to automate the manual, multistep biomedical laboratory procedure for prolonging the shelf life of stored blood. Our team used fluid mechanics and sphere packing methodologies to determine that an ID of 6.5cm and length of 10 inches are optimal to prevent speed and head losses. The device can be used to care for combat-injured patients requiring blood transfusions, as well as civilians and military beneficiaries. Future research can be accomplished through a Stage I SBIR/STTR process for greater access to R&D resources.