Inertial Microfluidics-based Platform for Portable Platelet Apheresis

Hemorrhage remains a largely unsolved problem and a leading cause of preventable deaths in both civilian and military arenas. Component blood therapy constituting of equal ratios of pRBCs, fresh frozen plasma and platelets have been shown to decrease mortality in hemorrhage patients. Platelet units are currently unavailable at forward operating military treatment facilities due to their short shelf life. Collection of platelets from volunteer donors for just-in-time use is a possible alternative to overcome this shortcoming. Current platelet apheresis instruments are bulky and power-hungry making them unsuitable for field-use. The proposed effort aims to develop a portable platelet apheresis system based on inertial microfluidics to separate platelets from whole blood. The developed system will be lightweight, power-friendly, ruggedized and have a small footprint making it suitable for use in forward deployed settings. The system will include on-board sensor for accurate determination of platelet counts to provide for optimal platelet yield during the donation process. We have assembled a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, scientists and physicians with experience in microfluidics, sensing, integrated systems and blood banking to successfully develop the proposed system.