Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus for warming blood from storage to physiologic temperatures at transfusion rates up to 160 milliliters per minute includes a flat metal cartridge formed by a pair of thin generally rectangular planar members spaced slightly apart in parallelism and sealed at their peripheral edges to define one or more thin constant-width and uniform thickness ribbon-like conduits through which blood flows from an inlet port to an outlet port at opposite ends of the cartridge. An inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, each defined by an elongated recess in one of the planar members, communicates the entire width of a corresponding end of each conduit with the inlet and outlet ports to establish uniform blood flow across each full conduit width. The cartridge is clamped between a pair of heating units, each unit having a low thermal mass and uniform heat distribution and including a thin flat metal plate having one surface disposed to clamp against the cartridge and the opposite surface bonded to a thin etched-foil electric heater, which respond rapidly to changes in blood flow rate without excessive temperature overshoot. The heating units are controlled in response to temperature sensors embedded in one of the heating units closely adjacent the clamping surface thereof and positioned to lie closely adjacent to the cartridge outlet chamber.

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First Claim