Biological Fluid Filtration System
A biological fluid filtration system for scanning a biological fluid so as to filter potentially undesirable constituents from the biological fluid for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. The biological fluid filtration system generally includes a fluid receiving device adapted to receive a biological fluid. A valve including an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet is fluidly connected to the fluid receiving device. The biological fluid within the fluid receiving device is scanned by a scanner to produce scanned data relating to the biological fluid. A control unit in communication with the scanner and the valve receives the scanned data and controls the valve based on the scanned data. The valve is controlled to direct the biological fluid through either the first or second outlet of the valve depending upon the constituents of the biological fluid identified by the control unit.
1 . A biological fluid filtration system, comprising:
a fluid receiving device including a plurality of microwells, wherein the plurality of microwells are adapted to receive a biological fluid;
a valve comprising an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, wherein the inlet of the valve is fluidly connected to at least one of the plurality of microwells;
a first scanner configured the biological fluid within a first microwell of the plurality of microwells to produce a scanned data relating to the biological fluid within the first microwell of the plurality of microwells; and
a control unit in communication with the first scanner and the valve, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the scanned data from the first scanner, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the valve based on the scanned data from the first scanner;
wherein the control unit is configured to control the valve to (a) direct the biological fluid through the first outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid or (b) direct the biological fluid through the second outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data does not indicate a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid.
2 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the valve is fluidly connected to a lower portion of the at least one of the plurality of microwells.
3 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microwells are arranged to form a microwell array.
4 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the first scanner is configured to scan the biological fluid within all of the plurality of microwells.
5 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microwells comprises a first set of microwells and a second set of microwells, wherein the first scanner is configured to scan the first set of microwells, and further comprising a second scanner configured to scan the second set of microwells.
6 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the valve is fluidly connected to the plurality of microwells.
7 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microwells are comprised of single-use wells.
8 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of microwells includes a parylene valve.
9 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of microwells includes a piezo lock.
10 . A method of filtering a biological fluid using the biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , comprising:
receiving the biological fluid by the plurality of microwells;
scanning the biological fluid within one of the plurality of microwells by the scanner;
directing the biological fluid through the first outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid; and
directing the biological fluid through the second outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising the step of disrupting one or more of the plurality of microwells.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of disrupting one or more of the plurality of microwells is comprised of shaking one or more of the plurality of microwells.
13 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine that the scanned data indicates the presence of the undesirable constituent when the control unit detects the undesirable constituent within the scanned data.
14 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine that the scanned data indicates the presence of the undesirable constituent when the control unit detects an unknown constituent within the scanned data.
15 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine that the scanned data does not indicate the presence of the undesirable constituent when the control unit detects only desirable constituents within the scanned data.
16 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the undesirable constituent is comprised of an unknown constituent.
17 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the undesirable constituent is comprised of a tumor cell.
18 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to compare the scanned data to a reference data.
19 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 18 , wherein the reference data is comprised of a characteristic of a healthy cell.
20 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 18 , wherein the reference data is comprised of an image of a healthy cell.
21 . A biological fluid filtration system, comprising:
a fluid receiving device including a plurality of microwells, wherein the plurality of microwells are adapted to receive a biological fluid;
a plurality of valves, wherein each of the plurality of valves is comprised of an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, wherein the inlet of each of the plurality of valves is fluidly connected to one of the plurality of microwells;
a scanner configured to scan the biological fluid within at least one of the plurality of microwells to produce a scanned data relating to the biological fluid within the at least one of the plurality of microwells; and
a control unit in communication with the scanner and each of the plurality of valves, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the scanned data from the scanner, and wherein the control unit is configured to control each of the plurality of valves based on the scanned data from the scanner;
wherein the control unit is configured to control each of the plurality of valves to (a) direct the biological fluid through the first outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid or (b) direct the biological fluid through the second outlet if the control unit determines that the scanned data does not indicate a presence of an undesirable constituent within the biological fluid.
22 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of valves is fluidly connected to a lower portion of one of the plurality of microwells.
23 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 21 , further comprising a pump for directing the biological fluid into the plurality of microwells.
24 . A biological fluid filtration system, comprising:
a fluid receiving device including a plurality of first microwells and a plurality of second microwells, wherein the plurality of first microwells are adapted to receive a first volume of a biological fluid, and wherein the plurality of second microwells are adapted to receive a second volume of the biological fluid;
a first valve comprised of an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, wherein the inlet of the first valve is fluidly connected to the plurality of first microwells;
a second valve comprised of an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, wherein the inlet of the second valve is fluidly connected to the plurality of second microwells;
at least one scanner configured to scan the first volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of first microwells to produce a first scanned data relating to the first volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of first microwells;
wherein the at least one scanner is configured to scan the second volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of second microwells to produce a second scanned data relating to the second volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of second microwells; and
a control unit in communication with the at least one scanner, the first valve, and the second valve, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the first scanned data and the second scanned data from the at least one scanner, wherein the control unit is configured to control the first valve based on the first scanned data from the at least one scanner, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the second valve based on the second scanned data from the at least one scanner;
wherein the control unit is configured to control the first valve to (a) direct the first volume of the biological fluid through the first outlet of the first valve if the control unit determines that the first scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the first volume of the biological fluid or (b) direct the first volume of the biological fluid through the second outlet of the first valve if the control unit determines that the first scanned data does not indicate a presence of an undesirable constituent within the first volume of the biological fluid;
wherein the control unit is configured to control the second valve to (a) direct the second volume of the biological fluid through the first outlet of the second valve if the control unit determines that the second scanned data indicates a presence of an undesirable constituent within the second volume of the biological fluid or (b) direct the second volume of the biological fluid through the second outlet of the second valve if the control unit determines that the second scanned data does not indicate a presence of an undesirable constituent within the second volume of the biological fluid.
25 . The biological fluid filtration system of claim 24 , wherein the at least one scanner is comprised of a first scanner configured to scan the first volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of first microwells and a second scanner configured to scan the second volume of the biological fluid within the plurality of second microwells.