AN ULTRASONIC PLATELET HARVESTER

TECHNICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENTOF A NOVEL PLATELET-HARVESTING SYSTEM BASED ON A PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED ULTRASOUND SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY. THIS TECHNOLOGY, DEVELOPED UNDER AN NHLBI GRANT, ALLOWS THE SEQUENTIAL SEPARATION OF CELLS BASED ON THEIR SIZE, EVEN THOSE CELLS THAT HAVE IDENTICAL DENSITIES. FIRST, RESIDUAL ERYTHROCYTES AND LARGE LEUKOCYTES CAN BE SEPARATED FROM PLATELET-CONTAINING PLASMA, THUS REDUCING THE CONCENTRATION OF THESE CONTAMINANTS. SECOND, THE PLATELETS CAN BE CONCENTRATED IN THE PLASMA BY GENTLY MOVINGTHEM TO ONE END OF A SEPARATION CELL. THIS CONCENTRATIVE WORK IS DONE WITHOUT "PACKING" THE CELLS INTO A PELLET, THUS REDUCING CELL-CELL INTERACTIONS AND PRESUMABLY INCREASING PLATELET LONGEVITY. PLATELET-RICH PLASMA WILL THEN EXIT THE DEVICE.