Surgical sponge blood salvage spinning device design and testing

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Intraoperative blood management is crucial for patient outcomes.
• Current methods of blood removal using surgical sponges result in significant blood loss.
• Effective retrieval of absorbed blood for autologous transfusion remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel spinning device for salvaging red blood cells from surgical sponges.
• To optimize the device's parameters for maximum viable blood recovery.
• To assess the efficacy of the device compared to manual methods.

Main Methods:

• Development of a spinning device designed to extract blood from surgical sponges.
• Use of porcine blood for optimization experiments.
• Systematic variation of spin speed and spin time to determine optimal parameters.
• Cell viability testing to assess hemolysis and compare with manual wringing.

Main Results:

• The spinning device salvaged comparable blood volumes to manual wringing at spin speeds exceeding 1000 RPM.
• Cell viability testing showed no significant difference in hemolysis between the device and manual wringing.
• Optimal device parameters were identified as a one-minute spin time at 1500 RPM for efficient blood salvage.

Conclusions:

• The novel sponge extractor is an effective tool for salvaging red blood cells from surgical sponges.
• The device offers a viable method for improving blood recovery for potential autologous transfusion.
• Optimized parameters ensure efficient blood salvage without compromising cell integrity, supporting its clinical application.