An auto-perfusing umbilical cord blood collection instrument

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a valuable source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for clinical applications.
• Current manual UCB collection methods using syringes are limited in volume and cell yield.
• There is a need for improved, automated methods for UCB collection to maximize cellular recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the development of an automated instrument for UCB collection.
• To overcome the limitations of current manual collection techniques.
• To enhance the yield and quality of UCB for clinical use.

Main Methods:

• Development of a multi-component automated UCB collection instrument.
• Incorporation of a placenta handling system simulating uterine compression via air pressure.
• Integration of an auto-medium injector for automated perfusion.
• Implementation of a time window widening system using vibrations to maintain cord temperature.
• A central control platform to manage and automate all subsystems.

Main Results:

• The developed instrument comprises four integrated subsystems for automated UCB collection.
• The placenta handling system effectively emulates uterine compression.
• The auto-medium injector and time window widening system optimize perfusion and cell viability.
• The control platform successfully integrates and automates the collection process.

Conclusions:

• The automated UCB collection instrument offers improved performance over manual methods.
• This technology has the potential to increase the availability of HSCs for clinical therapies.
• Further research and clinical validation are warranted to establish the full potential of this automated system.