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Abstract

A microwave thawing system for thawing bags of frozen blood products features non-invasively monitoring the internal temperature of the blood product during thawing, and controlling the level of warming energy applied to the blood product based on the monitored temperature. The non-invasive monitoring is performed with one or more antennas which receive electromagnetic energy from the frozen blood product during thawing. Because the applied energy level is controlled based on the temperature of the blood, the blood can be thawed rapidly with little risk of damage from overheating. Pressure is applied to the bag to maintain a uniform distribution of blood within the bag and to separate the thawed blood from the still-frozen blood during thawing; for example, the pressure moves the liquid blood to the periphery of the bag and retains the frozen blood in the center of the bag. As a result, the continued application of thawing energy to the frozen blood poses little risk of overheating (and contaminating) the liquid blood. The warming energy and the electromagnetic energy are transmitted and received, respectively, through transmit/receive waveguides configured to provide high isolation between its transmit and receive ports.

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First Claim