[Contamination and flow speed determination during fluid replacement using newly developed I-cap]

The authors have developed a new cork (I-cap) for transfusion bottle. The I-cap does not require a needle for allowing the air into the bottle. Instead, we put a water-repellent porous filter (W-R filter) made of sintered high molecular weight porous material in it, to allow passage of the air to and from the bottle. The results obtained in experiments designed to determine the contamination and flow-speed with the I-cap, standard cork and soft-bag, were as follow: 1) There was no bacterial contamination when the I-cap was employed, even under high pressure (1.5 atmospheric pressure). 2) Fluid replacement requiring "air-needles" was easily contaminated. 3) Flow-speed, when an I-cap is used, was more stable than when using conventional methods. 4) Flow-speed was most unstable when soft-bags were employed. Thus, the I-cap we have developed, allows the safe use of hard-type infusion bottles, without requiring an "air-needle" and ensuring a steady flow-speed. Our data demonstrate that I-cap can be safely and universally adapted for hard-type infusion bottles.