Devices for use in medicine

Abstract

Disclosed is an organ culture device for culturing a viable organ. The device provides culture medium for culturing the viable organ using a pump. The pump has a pump chamber located between an inlet and an outlet. The pump provides pulsatile pumping action of the culture medium by repeated deformation of a resilient tubular sidewall of the pump chamber by pressurised gas. The flow path of the culture medium may be circulatory on non-circulatory. The device has a reservoir and a collection vessel for the culture medium. Gas transfer into and out of the culture medium is also provided. Also disclosed is the pump itself and a gas pressure control device for delivering pulsed pressurised gas, e.g. to the pump.

1 . An organ culture device for culturing a viable organ, having: 
 a chamber for containing the viable organ, located along a liquid flow path for a flow of culture medium through the chamber; and    a pump provided along the liquid flow path, for pumping the culture medium,    wherein the pump has a pump chamber with a net flow direction for culture medium through the pump chamber, a pulsatile pumping action being obtainable by repeated deformation of a deformable wall of the pump chamber, disposed laterally of the net flow direction.    
   
   
       2 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein the deformable wall is resilient.  
   
   
       3 . A device according to  claim 1  having gas transfer means for gas transfer into or from the culture medium.  
   
   
       4 . A device according to  claim 3  wherein said gas transfer means operates by diffusion of gas through a gas-permeable wall.  
   
   
       5 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein said repeated deformation of the deformable wall is obtainable by pressurised gas outside said wall.  
   
   
       6 . A device according to  claim 5  wherein said pressurised gas effects gas-transfer into said culture medium.  
   
   
       7 . A device according to  claim 6  wherein said deformable wall of said pump is gas-permeable so that the gas transfer takes place through it.  
   
   
       8 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein the deformable wall extends substantially circumferentially around the pump chamber.  
   
   
       9 . A device according to  claim 8  wherein the deformable wall is tubular.  
   
   
       10 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein the pump has an inlet and an outlet at opposing ends of the pump chamber and located on a longitudinal axis of the pump chamber, the deformable wall being disposed between the inlet and outlet and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis.  
   
   
       11 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein the liquid flow path or a part of the liquid flow path extends from a reservoir for supplying culture medium to be pumped towards the chamber.  
   
   
       12 . A device according to  claim 1  further having culture medium collection means, disposed downstream of the chamber.  
   
   
       13 . A device according to  claim 12  wherein the chamber and the collection means are in communication via a flow restrictor.  
   
   
       14 . A device according to  claim 1  wherein the liquid flow path, or a part of the liquid flow path, forms a liquid flow circuit, at least some of the culture medium being allowed to recirculate in use.  
   
   
       15 . A device according to  claim 1  including a sampling port located downstream of the chamber, for sampling of the culture medium.  
   
   
       16 . A device according to  claim 1  in use containing a viable organ in said chamber and circulating culture medium in said liquid flow circuit.  
   
   
       17 . A method of maintaining a viable organ for transport and storage, using an organ culture device according to  claim 1 .  
   
   
       18 . An organ culture device according to  claim 1  sterilized in readiness for housing a viable organ and contained within a sealed enclosure for maintaining its sterilized state.  
   
   
       19 . An organ culture device according to  claim 4  further including a gas pressure control device for controlling gas flow to provide pulsed flow of pressurized gas to said pump, the organ culture device being sterilized in readiness for housing a viable organ and contained within a sealed enclosure maintaining its sterilized state.  
   
   
       20 . A pump for liquid having: 
 a pumping chamber for the liquid, there being a net flow direction in the pumping chamber for pumped liquid; and    a pumping member for acting on the liquid in the form of a deformable wall of the pump chamber, disposed laterally of the new flow direction, wherein the deformable wall is acted on by pulses of pressurised gas to cause pumping.    
   
   
       21 . A pump according to  claim 20  wherein the deformable wall is resilient.  
   
   
       22 . A pump according to  claim 20  deformable wall extends substantially circumferentially around the pump chamber.  
   
   
       23 . A pump according to  claim 20  wherein the deformable wall is tubular.  
   
   
       24 . A pump according to  claim 20  having means for generating a pulsed flow of pressurised gas from a reservoir of pressurised gas.  
   
   
       25 . A pump according to  claim 20  wherein said deformable wall is gas-permeable, for gas transfer between the pumped liquid and the pressurised gas.  
   
   
       26 . A gas pressure control device for delivering pulsed pressurised gas, comprising a gas accumulator chamber having an inlet for connection to a source of pressurised gas and an outlet, the gas accumulator chamber being resiliently expansible by movement of a movable wall thereof, the device having a valve member movable between a closed position closing said outlet and an open position permitting outflow through said outlet, the device further having means actuated by the movement of the movable wall of the accumulator chamber to move the valve member from the closed position to the open position when a predetermined pressure is reached in the accumulator chamber and means for returning the valve member to the closed position upon contraction of the accumulator chamber following release of a volume of gas therefrom.  
   
   
       27 . A device according to  claim 26  wherein the accumulator chamber is a piston-and-cylinder assembly.  
   
   
       28 . A device according to  claim 26  wherein the movable wall carries an actuating member which initiates movement of the valve member away from its closed position.  
   
   
       29 . A device according to  claim 26  having biasing means, operating on the valve member during its movement from its closed position, whereby after removal of the pressure differential across the valve member upon its opening the valve member is moved by the biasing means to its open position.  
   
   
       30 . (canceled)  
   
   
       31 . An organ culture device having, as said pump thereof, a pump according to  claim 20 .  
   
   
       32 . An organ culture device having a gas pressure control device according to  claim 26  for delivering pulsed pressurized gas to said pump.  
   
   
       33 . A pump according to having a gas pressure control device according to  claim 26  for delivering pulsed pressurized gas thereto.