Apparatus and method for maintaining and/or restoring viability of organs

Abstract

Methods of monitoring, maintaining, and/or restoring viability of at least one organ in at least one device selected from an organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and organ diagnostic apparatus, the methods including monitoring data comprising information relating to events occurring while at least one organ is present in at least one of an organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and/or organ diagnostic apparatus to form a data record; and connecting the at least one of the organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and/or organ diagnostic apparatus to a network through wiring or wirelessly, and uploading the data record to a database.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of monitoring, maintaining, and/or restoring viability of at least one organ in at least one device selected from an organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and organ diagnostic apparatus, the method comprising:
 monitoring data comprising information relating to events occurring while at least one organ is present in at least one of an organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and/or organ diagnostic apparatus to form a data record; and   connecting the at least one of the organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and/or organ diagnostic apparatus to a network through wiring or wirelessly, and uploading the data record to a database.   
     
     
         2 . A method of transporting and/or storing at least one organ in at least one device selected from an organ transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and/or organ diagnostic apparatus, the method comprising:
 adjusting transport and/or storage parameters of at least one device for the transport and/or storage of at least one organ based on a data record of organ transport and/or storage, the data record comprising:
 information relating to events occurring while at least one same or different organ was transported and/or stored in a least one same or different device, wherein the information is cross-referenced to outcome data relating to outcomes of transplantation of the at least one same or different organ that was transported and/or stored. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 disseminating the data record.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the data record in a database.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting the data record over a network.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the network is at least one of a local area network and the World Wide Web. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the same processor or different processor at least one of manages, tracks, monitors, and diagnoses the at least one other organ. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one same or different organ transporter is configured with a wireless communications setup to provide real-time data transfer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transferring the data to a memory device, wherein
 the data record is transferred to the memory device before connecting at least one of the transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and organ diagnostic apparatus to the network. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one of displaying, accessing, and uploading the data record from the database via either the same network or a different network connected to the database. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the same or different network is at least one of a local area network and the World Wide Web. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transferring the data record to a remote location for at least one of managing, tracking, monitoring, and diagnosing the at least one organ.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the transporter, perfusion apparatus, cassette, and organ diagnostic apparatus is configured with a wireless communications setup to provide real-time data transfer. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 producing a first organ viability index based on the data record.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 making organ therapy decisions based on the first organ viability index.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 comparing the first organ viability index with a second organ viability index.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 receiving the data record over a wireless network.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the data record is obtained from a database computer. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the database computer at least one of manages, tracks, monitors, and diagnoses the at least one organ in the at least one device in real-time. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising at least one of displaying, accessing, and downloading the data record via a network. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one device is configured with a wireless communications setup to provide real-time data transfer. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the information is cross-referenced to outcome data at the same location at which the at least one device is located.