JPH049301A - Internal organ-preserving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a device provided with an internal organ-preserving chamber, perfusion circuit, heat exchanger through which perfusion liquid flows, cooling equipment for cooling a cooling medium which flows through the heat exchanger, cooling medium-circulating means and further means for controlling supply of cooling medium to the heat exchanger carried out by the cooling medium-circulating means. CONSTITUTION:The aimed internal organ-preserving device 1 consists of a carrying unit 2 and inside unit 3. The carrying unit 2 provides with an internal organ housing chamber 4, heat exchanger 5 and gas exchanger 6 and permits the internal organ to apply perfusion. A cooling unit 19 in the inside unit 3 is connected to the heat exchanger 5 by a pipe 19 and temperature of the cooling medium is calculated in a cooling medium control part 17 which received temperature signal from a perfusion liquid temperature sensor 10 and temperature signal set by a perfusion liquid temperature setting part 16 and the calculated value is sent to the cooling unit 19, where the cooling medium is cooled. When the temperature of cooling medium is higher than that of the perfusion liquid at sight of a perfusion liquid temperature displaying device 13 and cooling medium temperature displaying device 30, a switch 20 is turned off and feed of the cooling medium to the heat exchanger 5 is stopped. Thereby the cooling medium can efficiently be cooled.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for transplanting organs such as a heart, liver, kidney, etc. extracted from a human body or an animal body to another patient or animal. This invention relates to an organ preservation device for preserving organs.

[Prior art] As a method for preserving organs extracted from the human or animal bodies, a low-temperature perfusion fluid circulation circuit is formed, and the extracted organs are stored in an organ storage chamber at a constant temperature while being supplied with the perfusion fluid. There is a low-temperature perfusion preservation method for preservation. This is a method in which a perfusate whose pressure, flow rate, pH, temperature, etc. are controlled to the extent that it does not interfere with the activity of the organ is perfused into the excised organ and preserved.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-311001 filed by the present applicant discloses a low-temperature perfusion preservation device that implements this method. This storage device is equipped with an organ storage chamber to store the extracted organ, a pump to circulate the perfusate, a heat exchanger to cool the perfusate, and an artificial lung, which are connected to form a perfusion circuit. The organs in the storage chamber are perfused with perfusate and preserved. This storage device consists of a transport unit equipped with the minimum necessary perfusion equipment to transport organs from the point of extraction to the hospital where they will be treated, and an in-hospital unit installed at the hospital. After the organs are stored and transported to the hospital, the transport unit is connected to the in-hospital unit and the organs are stored until further treatment such as surgery is performed.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-261301 filed by the present applicant discloses a transport unit with further improved transportability.

The hospital unit to which the transport unit is connected is equipped with a cooling unit connected to a heat exchanger attached to the perfusion circuit, and the coolant cooled by the cooling unit is supplied to the heat exchanger in the perfusion circuit. The perfusate flowing through this heat exchanger is cooled.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] As described above, since the perfusion fluid is cooled using the coolant, when the transport unit is connected to the in-hospital unit and the coolant is supplied to the heat exchanger, It is meaningless unless the temperature of the coolant is lower than the temperature of the irrigation fluid. However, in conventional organ preservation devices, cooling of the coolant is performed after connecting the drive unit and the in-hospital unit, without circulating the coolant through the heat exchanger, resulting in heat leakage in the heat exchanger. It took a long time to cool the coolant below the temperature of the perfusate.

Therefore, the set-up time for the in-hospital unit is disadvantageously increased, and energy for cooling the refrigerant is wasted.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above problems, reduce the time required to cool the coolant to a suitable temperature, and
An object of the present invention is to provide an organ preservation device that can save energy spent on cooling a coolant.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] In order to solve the above problems, the organ preservation device of the present invention includes: an organ storage chamber that stores the extracted organ; a perfusion circuit that supplies a perfusate to the organ; a heat exchanger through which the perfusate flows, a cooler for cooling the coolant flowing through the heat exchanger, and means for circulating the coolant between the heat exchanger and the cooler; In an organ preservation apparatus configured to supply a coolant cooled in a container to the heat exchanger to cool the perfusate flowing through the perfusion circuit, the coolant circulating means comprises:
The apparatus is characterized by comprising means for controlling the supply of the coolant to the heat exchanger according to the temperatures of the perfusate and the coolant.

In this manner, the organ preservation device of the present invention is provided with a means for controlling the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger according to the temperature of the perfusate and the temperature of the coolant. When the temperature is higher than that, the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger is stopped, the coolant is cooled in the cooler, and when the temperature of the coolant becomes lower than the temperature of the perfusion liquid, the coolant is supplied to the heat exchanger. We are trying to start supplying it. For this reason, unlike conventional devices, the coolant is not cooled while circulating through the heat exchanger, but when the temperature of the coolant is higher than the temperature of the perfusate, the circulation of the coolant to the heat exchanger is stopped. Since the coolant is cooled, it is possible to prevent heat leakage in the heat exchanger. Therefore, the coolant can be efficiently cooled, the time required for cooling can be shortened, and the energy used to cool the coolant can be prevented from being wasted.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the organ storage device 1 of this embodiment is composed of a transport unit 2 for transporting the extracted organ, and an in-hospital unit 3 installed on the receptor side of a hospital or the like. The transport unit 2 is designed to facilitate transport by including only the minimum necessary items to perfuse the extracted organ until it is transported to the hospital. That is, the transport unit 2 includes an organ storage chamber 4 for storing the extracted organ, a heat exchanger 5, and a gas exchanger 6, which are connected to form a perfusion circuit. In addition, a reservoir 7 for storing the perfusate is provided on the downstream side of the organ storage chamber 4, and a bubble trap 8 for removing bubbles in the perfusate is provided on the upstream side. A liquid pump 9 for circulating a perfusion solution is provided in the perfusion circuit to perfuse the organs within the organ storage chamber 4.

A perfusate temperature sensor 10 and a perfusate pressure sensor 11 are provided between the bubble trap 8 and the organ storage chamber 4 in this perfusion circuit to measure the temperature and pressure of the perfusate. Furthermore, the transport unit 2 is equipped with an electrical unit 2a.
is installed, and the liquid feeding pump 9 is installed here, as well as an irrigation fluid temperature indicator 12 and an irrigation fluid pressure indicator 1.
3 is provided and electrically connected to the perfusate temperature sensor 10 and the perfusate pressure sensor 11, and the temperature and pressure of the perfusate measured by these sensors are displayed respectively. Further, a pH sensor 14 is provided between the heat exchanger 5 and the liquid pump 9 to measure the pH of the perfusate.

The in-hospital unit 2 includes a power supply section 15 and a perfusate temperature setting section 16.
, coolant temperature setting section 17, relay 18, cooling unit 1
9, switch 20, coolant drive section 21, pH indicator 22
, perfusate pH setting unit 23, perfusate pH control unit 24, solenoid valve 25, CO2 absorbent column 26, near compressor 27, CO□ cylinder 28a, coolant temperature sensor 29,
A coolant temperature indicator 30 is provided.

The cooling unit 19 is connected to the heat exchanger 5 provided in the transport unit 2 through pipes 19a and 19b.
The coolant in the cooling unit 19 is supplied to the heat exchanger 5 via the pipe 19a by the coolant drive unit 21.
is configured to cool the perfusate flowing through the irrigant. The coolant control section 17 is supplied with a temperature signal of the irrigation fluid from the irrigation fluid temperature sensor 10, and on the other hand, is supplied with a temperature signal set to an appropriate temperature by the irrigation fluid temperature setting section 16. Coolant control section 17 calculates an appropriate coolant temperature based on these signals, and supplies this coolant temperature signal to cooling unit 19 via relay 18 . The cooling unit 19 receives the coolant temperature signal from the coolant control section 17 and cools the coolant based on this temperature signal. cooling unit 1
9 is provided with a coolant temperature sensor 29, and the coolant temperature detected by the coolant temperature sensor 29 is displayed externally on a coolant temperature display 30. On the other hand, switch 2
0 is electrically connected to the cooling unit 19 and the coolant drive section 21. The operator can know the temperature of the irrigant and the coolant by looking at the irrigant temperature indicator 13 and the coolant temperature indicator 30, and if the temperature of the coolant is higher than the temperature of the irrigant, The supply of coolant to the heat exchanger 5 is stopped by manually turning off the switch 20 and stopping the power supply to the coolant drive unit 21 . Further, when the temperature of the coolant becomes lower than the temperature of the perfusion liquid, the switch 20 is turned on to start supplying power to the coolant drive unit 21, and the coolant is sent to the heat exchanger 8 to perform perfusion. Allow the liquid to cool.

In this way, the supply of the coolant to the heat exchanger 8 is stopped until the temperature of the coolant becomes lower than the temperature of the perfusate, so the coolant is efficiently cooled within the cooling unit 19. This makes it possible to avoid wasting energy when cooling the coolant.

The near compressor 27 is connected to the gas exchanger 6 of the transport unit 2.
is connected to via a gas pipe 6a, and the gas pipe 6a has a
A CO2 absorbent column 24 and a flow meter 31 are provided.

The near compressor 27 sends air to the gas exchanger 6, or the gas pipe 6a is provided with a column 24, so the gas removed from the air is supplied to the gas exchanger 6. . This gas is supplied to the perfusate flowing through the gas exchanger 6, and the gas after gas exchange is discharged to the outside via the gas pipe 6b. As shown in FIG. 1, the gas pipe 6a branches before the flow meter 31, and the branched gas pipe 6c is connected to the CO2 cylinder 28a via the electromagnetic valve 25. The electromagnetic valve 25 is electrically connected to the pH control section 23, and the pH control section 23 controls the electromagnetic valve 25 to open and close depending on the pH of the perfusate measured by the pH sensor 14.

A pH sensor 14 provided in the perfusion circuit measures the pH of the perfusate, and a signal of this measured value is supplied to the pH control section 23. p
The perfusate pH setting section 24 is also connected to the H control section 23, and a signal of the pH setting value is also supplied thereto. pH sensor 14
When the measured p) (value is lower than the pH value preset in the pH setting section 24, the pH control section 23 releases a
A signal is sent to spell out the pH, and vice versa.
When the value is higher than the value, a signal is sent to open the solenoid valve 25. Therefore, if the pH measurement is higher than the set value, the p
The electromagnetic valve 25 is opened under the control of the H control unit 23, and CO2 gas is supplied to the gas exchanger 6 together with the gas sent from the near compressor 27. Conversely, if the measured value is lower than the set value, the solenoid valve 25 is closed and only the gas (from which 002 is removed from the air) from the near compressor 27 is supplied to the gas exchanger 7.

When CO2 is not supplied, that is, when the solenoid valve 25 is closed and CO2 is not supplied, C02 is not supplied in the gas exchanger 7.
Since the partial pressure of O2 becomes zero, the C contained in the perfusate
O2 evaporates into the gas phase through the gas exchange membrane, resulting in HCO3−+ H”−+ H2C+
The CO2↑ reaction progresses and the pH value of the perfusate decreases.

Conversely, when the solenoid valve 25 is opened and CO2 is supplied, the reaction proceeds as follows: H2C+ CO2→HCO3-10H.
The pH value will rise. In addition, near compressor 27
The amount of air supplied from the CO2 cylinder 28a and the CO2 from the CO2 cylinder 28a
The supply amounts of 2 are measured by flowmeters 31 and 32, respectively.

As described above, in the organ preservation device of this embodiment, the coolant is efficiently cooled, the energy required for cooling the coolant is saved, and the pH value of the perfusate is controlled.
It is designed to allow organs to be preserved in more appropriate conditions for longer periods of time.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention. In the following embodiments, the same components as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof are omitted.

The organ preservation device of the second embodiment is configured so that the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger 5 can be automatically controlled. That is, the switch 20 in the first embodiment is removed, and the in-hospital unit 3 is provided with a comparison control section 34, which is electrically connected to the perfusate temperature sensor 10 of the transport unit 2, and the coolant temperature sensor 10 of the coolant unit 19. The comparison control unit 34 is configured to compare the temperature of the irrigation fluid and the temperature of the coolant. Further, the comparison control section 34 and the coolant drive section 21 are connected via a relay 33, and the relay 33 is controlled to be in an OFF state while the temperature of the coolant is higher than the temperature of the irrigation fluid. or lower than the temperature of the perfusate, the relay 33 is turned on.
It is controlled to be in the N state. When the relay 33 is turned OFF, the power supply to the coolant drive unit 21 is stopped, the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger 5 is stopped, and the relay 33 is turned ON.
When the state is reached, power supply to the coolant drive unit 21 is started, and the coolant is supplied to the heat exchanger 5.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, two gas exchangers are installed in the perfusion circuit, and one gas pipe 3 of the first gas exchanger 35 is connected to the perfusion circuit.
5a is 0. It is connected to the cylinder 28b, and the other gas pipe 35b is open to the outside. Further, the gas pipe 35a is branched into a gas pipe 35c, and the gas pipe 35c is CO2
It is connected to the cylinder 28a. A solenoid valve 25 is provided in the gas pipe 35c, and the solenoid valve 25 is electrically connected to the pH control section 23 as in the first embodiment.

The other gas pipe 35c of the first gas exchanger 35 is open to the outside, and the gas after gas exchange is exhausted from here. The second gas exchanger 36 is connected to one gas line 36a or to a compressor 37, and the other gas line 36b is closed, so as to degas the perfusate flowing through the second gas exchanger 36. It is composed of This compressor 37 is electrically connected to the pH control section 23 via a relay 38. When the pH value set by the pH setting part 24 is lower than the pH value measured by the pH sensor 14, the pH control part 23 controls the electromagnetic valve 25 to open and controls the relay 38 to turn OFF. do. As a result, if the measured value is lower than the set value, the first gas exchanger 3
5 is supplied with 02 gas and C02 gas, while the supply of power to the compressor 37 is stopped and deaeration in the second gas exchanger 36 is stopped. First gas exchanger 3
5, a CO2+ 02 gas mixture will be supplied to the perfusate flowing through the gas exchanger 35, and the pH value will fall. Conversely, when the set value set by the pH setting unit 24 is lower than the pH value measured by the pH sensor 14, the solenoid valve 25 is controlled to be closed, and the relay 38 is controlled to be turned on. As a result, only the 02 gas is supplied to the first gas exchanger 35, power is started to be supplied to the compressor 37, and deaeration by the second gas exchanger 36 is started. Only 02 gas is supplied to the perfusate,
The pH value increases.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a switch 20 is provided in the in-hospital unit 2, and the operator compares the temperature of the perfusate with the temperature of the coolant and manually switches the switch 20 to 0N-0.
The supply of coolant to the heat exchanger 5 is controlled by controlling the FF.

A 3-port solenoid valve 40 is provided on the coolant drive unit 21 side of the pipe 19a that connects the heat exchanger 5 and the coolant drive unit 21, and this 3-port solenoid valve 40 is further connected to the cooling unit 19 by a pipe 19c to perform cooling. Unit 19 → Coolant drive section 21 →
A 3-port solenoid valve 40 → a coolant circulation circuit for the cooling unit 19 is formed. Cooling unit 19 and coolant drive section 21
A pipe connecting the coolant drive unit 21 and the 3-port solenoid valve 40 and the 3-port solenoid valve 40 and the cooling unit 19 is molded with a heat insulating material. The switch 20 and the 3-port solenoid valve 4
0 is electrically connected, and a DC power source 39 is provided on the power source side of the switch 20.

The three-port electromagnetic valve 40 is configured to open a flow path between the coolant drive unit 21 and the heat exchanger 5 when a DC voltage is applied from the DC power supply 39. The operator keeps the switch 17 OFF while the temperature of the irrigation fluid is lower than the temperature of the coolant.

Since no DC voltage is applied to the 3-port solenoid valve 40, the flow path to the heat exchanger 5 is closed, and the coolant is supplied to the cooling unit 19. It flows through the molded flow path and is not supplied to the heat exchanger 5. On the other hand, when the temperature of the irrigation fluid becomes higher than the temperature of the coolant, the operator turns on the switch 20 to apply the DC voltage from the DC voltage 39 to the 3-port solenoid valve 40, and the coolant drive unit 21 A flow path between the heat exchanger 5 and the heat exchanger 5 is opened to supply the coolant to the heat exchanger 5.

With such a configuration, the coolant can be circulated even while the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger is stopped, so that the coolant can be brought to a uniformly low temperature.

In addition, in this embodiment, a PEC (photoe-coupler) is provided inside between the gas exchanger 6 and the bubble trap 8 in the perfusion circuit.
A column 41 containing a electric Ce1l (light irradiation semiconductor) is installed, and external light is applied to the column 41. The gas exchanger 6 is supplied with 02 gas and CO2 gas from the 02 cylinder 28b and the C○2 cylinder 28a. C.O.
The two-gas supply vibro c is provided with an electromagnetic valve 25, and the amount of CO2 gas supplied is controlled by the pH control section 23.

When the pH value measured by the pH sensor 14 is higher than the set value set by the pH setting unit 24, the solenoid valve 25 is controlled to open, and the gas exchanger 6 is supplied with 0.2 CO2 mixed gas, and the perfusion fluid is lowers the pH value of On the other hand, if the measured value is lower than the set value, the solenoid valve 25 is controlled to close, and as a result, only 02 gas is supplied to the gas exchanger, no C02 gas is supplied, and the pH of the perfusate increases. It turns out.

In this embodiment, a pEC column 41 is further installed in the perfusion circuit, and since the PEC column 41 is always irradiated with external light, 2H"+
The reaction 2e-→H2↑ progresses, and the H+ ions generated in the perfusate in the gas exchanger 6 are converted into H2 gas, which is captured by the bubble trap 8.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of a fourth embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a silicone rubber 42 is attached to the bottom surface of the reservoir 7 of the transport unit 1, and an ultrasonic transducer 43 is embedded in the silicone rubber 42. Ultrasonic transducer 43
is electrically connected to an ultrasonic oscillation circuit 44 provided in the electrical unit, and is configured to drive the ultrasonic oscillation circuit 44 to generate ultrasonic waves within the reservoir 7. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment. By generating ultrasonic waves in this way, cavitation is caused in the perfusate in the reservoir 7, and the 02 gas and CO2 gas contained in the perfusate in the reservoir 7 are degassed. pH sensor 14
When the measured pH value is lower than the set value, CO□ is not added to the perfusate by the gas exchanger 6, so
After dripping the perfusate into the internal organs, add 002 to the perfusate.
Either increases and the pH decreases, or by configuring as described above, this CO2 is degassed within the reservoir 7 and the pH value of the perfusate increases again. When the pH value becomes higher than the set value, CO2 is supplied by the gas exchanger 6, so that the pH value decreases. In this way, by making it possible not only to lower the pH value of the perfusate but also to increase it, the pH of the perfusate can be maintained at a value appropriate for organ preservation.
Organs can now be preserved in better conditions for longer periods of time. In this embodiment, the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger is controlled in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the organ preservation device of the present invention,
By controlling the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger according to the temperature of the irrigation fluid and coolant, the coolant is efficiently cooled, thereby reducing the energy required to cool the coolant. I can do it. Furthermore, since a sufficiently cooled coolant can be supplied to the heat exchanger, the perfusate can be quickly cooled to a predetermined temperature, allowing the extracted organ to be preserved in better conditions for a longer period of time. There will be two.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the organ preservation device of the present invention. 1... Organ preservation device 2... Transport unit 3.
...Hospital unit 4...Organ storage chamber 5...Heat exchanger 6...Gas exchanger 7...Reservoir 8...Bubble trap 9...Liquid pump 10...Irrigation fluid temperature Sensor 12... Irrigation fluid temperature indicator 13... Irrigation fluid pressure indicator 15... Power supply section 16... Irrigation fluid temperature setting section 17... Cooling control section 18... Relay 19.
... Cooling unit 20 ... Switch 21 ... Coolant drive section 22 ... pH indicator 23 ... pH control section 25 ... Solenoid valve 27 ... Near compressor 28a ... C02 cylinder 28b ...02 cylinder 2
9... Coolant temperature sensor... Coolant temperature indicator... Relay... First gas exchanger... Compressor... DC power supply... PEC storage column... Silicon rubber 4. ...Ultrasonic oscillator circuit...Comparison control section...Second gas exchanger...Relay...3-port solenoid valve 3...Ultrasonic vibrator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An organ storage chamber that stores the extracted organ, a perfusion circuit that supplies irrigation fluid to the organ, a heat exchanger through which the irrigation fluid flows, and a cooler that cools the coolant flowing through the heat exchanger; means for circulating the coolant between the heat exchanger and the cooler, supplying the coolant cooled by the cooler to the heat exchanger to cool the perfusate flowing through the perfusion circuit. In the organ preservation device configured to do so, the coolant circulation means includes means for controlling the supply of coolant to the heat exchanger according to the temperatures of the perfusate and the coolant. organ storage device.