This technology is a microfluidic device for photopheresis that can separate flowing blood into constituent layers, allowing the treatment of specific blood components with light.
The light-activated treatment of blood outside the patient’s body, known as extracorporeal photopheresis, is a promising method for targeted treatment of blood-based diseases, including T-cell lymphoma. However, current methods are highly inefficient, involving removal of the patient’s blood, centrifugation to enable irradiation of specific cells, and subsequent reinfusion of the treated blood. Many repeated cycles of blood removal and reinfusion are required over several days to treat a sufficient volume of blood for an effective response, making this approach cumbersome, expensive and impractical.
The microfluidic device described in this technology separates blood components by exploiting flow dynamics and particle size. The separation channel is designed to generate a shear profile that causes red and white blood cells to separate as blood is flowed through the device. This segregation allows for the selective irradiation and direct treatment or activation of a targeted cell group. Moreover, flowing whole blood can be supplied to the device directly from the patient, eliminating the need for cumbersome batch separation and treatment of blood, and enabling the development of a wearable extracorporeal photopheresis device.
Patent Issued (US 8,556,844)
IR M08-042
Licensing Contact: Beth Kauderer