Method and device for thawing biological material

{
  "publication_number": "US10251389B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Method and device for thawing biological material",
  "abstract": "This disclosure is a system for heating a sample, e.g. a biological material, in a vessel. The system can include a heating device configured to transmit energy to the vessel and a base moveably coupled to the heating device. The system can also include a processor configured to receive an input associated with a target temperature, and transmit a signal to controllably move the heating device relative to the base for a time period, wherein the time period is determined based on the target temperature and content volume.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A system for thawing a frozen biological material in a vessel, the system comprising: a lower base; a temperature control assembly comprising a thawing chamber enclosing the vessel, the temperature control assembly including: a first heating block and a second heating block, end faces of the first and second heating blocks at least partially abutting one another, the thawing chamber being defined by recesses in the end faces of the first and second heating blocks, each of the heating blocks configured to cooperate with one another to heat the thawing chamber to a target temperature; a first temperature sensor operably associated with the first heating block and configured to read a temperature of the first heating block; and a second temperature sensor operably associated with the second heating block and configured to read a temperature of the second heating block, wherein the temperature control assembly is configured to transmit energy to the vessel; a motor coupled to the temperature control assembly and configured to move the temperature control assembly in an oscillating, partially rotating motion relative to the lower base; and a processor configured to: (a) receive an input associated with the target temperature; and (b) transmit a signal to cause the motor to controllably move the temperature control assembly and the vessel together relative to the lower base for a time period, resulting in generally uniform heat dispersion during thawing of the frozen biological material, wherein the time period is determined based on at least the target temperature and a content volume of the biological material, and wherein the frozen biological material comprises viable cells.",
    "2. The system of claim 1, wherein the vessel is a vial or tube.",
    "3. The system of claim 1, wherein the viable cells comprise placenta-derived stromal cells.",
    "4. The system of claim 1, wherein the frozen biological material is cryopreserved.",
    "5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a signal to controllably rotate or oscillate the temperature control assembly relative to the base.",
    "6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a signal to controllably rotate the temperature control assembly at a speed between 1-500 RPM relative to the base.",
    "7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a signal to controllably rotate the temperature control assembly at a speed between 180-400 RPM relative to the base.",
    "8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a signal to controllably rotate the temperature control assembly with a total rotation range between 10-180 degrees.",
    "9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a signal to controllably rotate the temperature control assembly relative to the base at a variable speed.",
    "10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system results in improved cellular vitality compared to an otherwise similar system without moving the temperature control assembly.",
    "11. The system of claim 1, wherein when either of the first or second temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the thawing chamber is higher than the target temperature, both of the heating blocks stop heating the thawing chamber.",
    "12. The system of claim 1, wherein the temperature control assembly further comprises a first cooling device operably associated with the first heating block and a second cooling device operably associated with the second heating block, wherein when the first or second temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the thawing chamber is higher than the target temperature, the first or second cooling device cools the thawing chamber.",
    "13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first or second cooling device comprises a thermoelectric cooler.",
    "14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first or second cooling device comprises a fan.",
    "15. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to keep the biological material at a constant temperature after thawing.",
    "16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a code or tag reader configured to identify a code or tag associated with the vessel.",
    "17. The system of claim 16, wherein said vessel further comprises a code or tag that is readable by said code or tag reader.",
    "18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory configured to store data associated with at least one of a temperature of the first heating block, a temperature of the second heating block, a temperature of the vessel, a temperature of the biological material, a speed of movement of the temperature control assembly, and the time period.",
    "19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a network connection configured to transmit said data to a network.",
    "20. The system of claim 1, wherein the first heating block and the second heating block each include separate respective heating means.",
    "21. The system of claim 1, configured to maintain the vessel at a temperature below an initial thawing temperature at the end of a thawing procedure in a standby mode until the vessel is extracted from the system for use.",
    "22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a vessel ejection system including an eject switch which, when depressed, ejects the vessel from the thawing chamber.",
    "23. The system of claim 14, wherein the temperature control assembly includes two fans located on opposite sides of the temperature control assembly.",
    "24. The system of claim 16, wherein the code or tag reader provides the system with a program for the temperature control assembly based on information stored in the code or tag associated with the vessel.",
    "25. The system of claim 1, further comprising a vessel temperature sensor configured to read a temperature of the vessel when the vessel is disposed in the thawing chamber.",
    "26. A method of thawing a frozen biological material in a vessel, comprising: (i) providing the system of claim 1, (ii) placing the vessel in the thawing chamber, (iii) applying heat to the frozen biological material via the temperature control assembly such that a target temperature is reached, and (iv) controllably moving the temperature control assembly and the vessel together relative to the base for a time period to allow generally uniform heat dispersion during thawing of the frozen biological material, wherein the time period is determined based on at least the target temperature and a content volume of the biological material, and wherein the frozen biological material comprises viable cells.",
    "27. The method of claim 26, wherein the vessel is a vial or tube.",
    "28. The method of claim 26, wherein the viable cells comprise placenta-derived stromal cells.",
    "29. The method of claim 26, wherein the frozen biological material is cryopreserved.",
    "30. The method of claim 26, further comprising halting the step of controllably moving the temperature control assembly and the vessel after the time period has elapsed.",
    "31. The method of claim 26, further comprising terminating the step of applying heat after the time period has elapsed.",
    "32. The method of claim 26, further comprising terminating the step of applying heat after the target temperature is reached.",
    "33. The method of claim 26, further comprising keeping the biological material at a constant temperature after thawing.",
    "34. The method of claim 26, further comprising recording an identifier associated with the biological material.",
    "35. The method of claim 26, further comprising recording information associated with at least one of a temperature of the temperature control assembly, a temperature of the biological material, a speed of movement of the heating device, and the time period of said step of applying heat."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present disclosure relates to a heating device and, more particularly, to systems and methods for thawing biological material.\n\nVarious biological materials are typically stored below freezing. For long-term storage, cells, peptides, or nucleic acids can be stored at −80° C., −20° C., or in liquid nitrogen at −195° C. Short-term storage can include temperatures at or greater than 0° C.\n\nMany biological experiments are typically conducted at temperatures greater than these storage temperatures. For example, eukaryotic cells are often grown at 37° C., while prokaryotic cells often prefer different temperatures.\n\nTraditionally, biological materials are aliquoted in vials and frozen for storage. To heat these vials, a person would usually take each vial and place it in a hot water bath. The person would carefully stir the vial in the bath to ensure uniform heating of the vials contents and to swirl the biological material within the vial. After some time, the person would remove the vial from the water bath and determine if the contents had sufficiently thawed. Once properly thawed, the biological material would be ready for use.\n\nSeveral problems exist with traditional heating protocols. Firstly, the chance of contamination is high, as multiple vials are usually placed in the same water bath. To ensure sterility, the vial is typically wiped with an ethanol solution following removal from the water bath. However, the wipe may not be completely effective, and contaminants may remain on the vial or cap surface.",
  "cpc": [
    "A01N 1/162",
    "A01N 1/0242",
    "A01N 1/0284",
    "A01N 1/10",
    "A01N 1/142",
    "A61K 35/14",
    "B01F 29/30",
    "B01F 9/0014",
    "B01L 2200/147",
    "B01L 2300/1827",
    "B01L 2300/1861",
    "B01L 2400/0409",
    "B01L 7/00",
    "C12M 47/20",
    "H05B 1/02"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A01N 1/02",
    "H05B 1/02",
    "B01L 7/00",
    "F24H 1/18"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Pluristem Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Ohad Karnieli",
    "Tal Slonim",
    "Lior Raviv",
    "Nufar Gross"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2015-01-15",
  "publication_date": "2019-04-09",
  "grant_date": "2019-04-09",
  "priority_date": "2012-10-31",
  "application_number": "US-201514597505-A",
  "family_id": "50439422",
  "cited_by_count": 11,
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}