This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Clinicians have identified a wide range of therapeutic and laboratory applications for autologous isolated fractions, such as platelet concentrate, platelet-poor-plasma, and stromal cells, of suspensions such as blood, bone marrow aspirate, and adipose tissue. Clinicians generally prefer to draw and fractionate the autologous suspension at the point-of-care. Point-of-care fractionation can reduce the need for multiple appointments to draw and fractionate the autologous suspension which can be costly and inconvenient. Additionally, point-of-care preparation reduces potential degradation of the autologous suspension that can begin once the autologous suspension is removed from a patient. Point-of-care fractionation systems should be easy to operate to reduce the need to provide clinicians with extensive instruction, quick so the therapeutic fraction can be isolated and administered during a single patient visit, efficient to effectively isolate the fraction to a desired concentration, and reproducible to operate over wide variations in suspension characteristics. An example of a buoy based suspension fractionation system is shown in BIOMET BIOLOGICS, Inc. international brochure entitled “Gravitational Platelet Separation System Accelerating the Body's Natural Healing Process,” 2006.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds