Minnesota Patent of the Month – March 2021
A peristaltic pump, or roller pump, has fluid contained in a flexible tube within the circular pump casing. A roller compresses the tube, forcing the fluid to move through. Peristaltic pumps offer a syringe-less method for injecting fluids into a person. For instance, the use of a combination of a saline solution and contrast agent can be used during scans to help distinguish the target organ or tissue. Current designs result in disposal of the pump after each patient in order to ensure sterility. ACIST Medical Systems, Inc. has designed a syringeless peristaltic pump with reusable components which help to overcome these sterility.
ACIST is a diagnostic technology company, pioneering solutions with advanced products. They developed the world’s first Rapid Exchange FFR and bring clinical research, webinars, and instructional materials to their clinics. Their new peristaltic pump design intends to use a safe and guided delivery tube loading within the pump to make it easier to handle. Traditional pumps require manually loading the pump which can be very tricky. The new design has two parts which snap together for fast loading. Once snapped together, the tube is situated next to the rollers for peristalsis. The rollers compress the fluid and move it along the tube. In a traditional design, the tube would connect directly to the patient’s catheter. Following use, the system would be discarded. ACIST has included an additional component – the patient line. This is an additional connector element between the tube and catheter. This patient line is replaced between patients, while the tubing and peristaltic pump can be reused. The addition of this patient line helps to mitigate waste and cost while protecting sterility.
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