Patent Description:
When blood is centrifuged, the blood is separated into three layers. That is, red blood cells, which have heaviest specific gravity, are gathered in a lowest portion of a centrifuge tube, thereabove, platelets and leucocytes are gathered to form a thin layer, and solution elements including almost no particles are disposed thereabove. Here, an intermediate thin layer in which the platelets and the leucocytes are intensively gathered is referred to as platelet rich plasma (PRP), and, thereabove, a layer including only a solution without blood cell particles is referred to as platelet poor plasma (PPP). Originally, since the platelets contain various growth factors, the platelets play an important role for wound healing and skin regeneration. Also, it is reported that since the PRP contains platelets with a high concentration, the PRP exhibits effects in which various growth factors promote the proliferation of cells therearound and stimulate elements such as collagen to be well synthesized. Thus, in recent years, the PRP has been used in various fields including a pain treatment field such as backache and a skin disease field such as hair loss treatment, skin regeneration, or burn treatment. Although novel devices for a PRP extracting method are currently released, the devices have limitations in that red blood cells, which are intended to be excluded, are contained in an extract, and since an extraction process is extremely precise, the concentration of the PRP is not uniform to cause deviations in quality control. Furthermore, a conventional centrifuge tube for PRP extraction is extremely expensive. In relation to this, <CIT> discloses a kit for separating blood.

<CIT> discloses an integrated separating device for separating a specific component from material containing components having different specific gravities.

<CIT> discloses a system for separating components of different densities from a physiological fluid containing cells using a centrifuge, including a container having a bottom, a top disposed opposite to the bottom, and a sidewall extending between the bottom and the top, the container defining a cavity for receiving the fluid.

<CIT> discloses a blood centrifuge container which allows blood to be injected and suctioned without using a syringe needle.

However, since <CIT> is a technology for extracting a buffy coat that is a thin layer in which platelets and leucocytes are concentrated and which is disposed between plasma and a red blood cell layer, this technology is not appropriate for extracting only the PRP having a high concentration.

The present invention provides a device for extracting PRP and extracting method using the same, which is capable of quickly and effectively extracting the PRP having a high concentration from centrifuged blood through a simple manipulation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is a device for extracting platelet rich plasma (PRP), the device including: a main body unit including an upper accommodation space having a lower end part having an inclined surface having a width gradually decreasing in a downward direction, a lower accommodation space disposed below the upper accommodation space and having an upper end part having an inclined surface having a width gradually decreasing in an upward direction, and a bottleneck part that is a passage connecting the upper accommodation space and the lower accommodation space; an upper cover disposed above the main body unit and retractably coupled to the main body unit; and a lower cover disposed below the main body unit and retractably coupled to the main body unit to seal the lower accommodation space, wherein a syringe guide having a hollow tube structure, which extends downward from a protruding-type syringe insertion hole for inserting a syringe, and disposed inside the upper accommodation space is defined at a central portion of a top surface of the upper cover. Here, a syringe nozzle coupling hole having a protruding structure for being coupled with the syringe nozzle is defined at a position spaced apart from the syringe insertion hole, and a PRP extraction tube having a through hole structure, which extends downward from the syringe nozzle coupling hole in the upper accommodation space and having a lower inclinedly cut cross-section, is disposed in the upper accommodation space. Also, when the upper cover descends, a lower end of the syringe guide blocks the bottleneck part and a space above the bottleneck part, and, at the same time, as the end of the PRP extraction tube is pressed and inclined by contacting the inclined surface, while one surface of the PRP extraction tube contacts the syringe guide, an upper end part of the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube having an inclined surface structure contacts the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space, and as a lower end part is slightly spaced apart from the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space, a gap through which solution inside the upper accommodation space flows into the PRP extraction tube is generated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, provided is a method of extracting platelet rich plasma from whole blood using the device for extracting PRP comprising: injecting a whole blood collected from a subject into the device; separating the whole blood into a plasma layer and a blood cell layer by centrifuging the device; rotating the upper cover of the device in order to lower the upper cover and to place a tip of the PRP extraction tube in the lower part of the plasma layer thereby; extracting the PRP using a syringe connected to the syringe nozzle coupling hole; and collecting extracted PRP.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the inventive concept, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the inventive concept. In the drawings:.

A term "platelet-rich plasma (PRP)" used herein refers to a concentrate obtained by extracting platelets from autologous blood. An intermediate thin layer in which platelets and leucocytes are intensively gathered when blood is centrifuged refers to PRP, and, thereabove, a blood layer consisting of only a solution without blood cell particles refers to platelet poor plasma (PPP).

A term "luer activated valve (LAV)" used herein refers to a valve that is opened and closed in a variable manner according to a pressure applied from the outside. That is, the LAV refers to a valve having a structure in which while a shape of an inner silicon member is deformed when a pressure is applied to an upper portion of the valve, a fluid is movable from the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside although a structure, in which the inner silicon member completely blocks the outside, is maintained.

According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is a device for extracting platelet rich plasma (PRP), the device including: a main body unit including an upper accommodation space having a lower end part having an inclined surface having a width gradually decreasing in a downward direction, a lower accommodation space disposed below the upper accommodation space and having an upper end part having a width gradually decreasing in an upward direction, and a bottleneck part that is a passage connecting the upper accommodation space and the lower accommodation space; an upper cover disposed above the main body unit and retractably coupled to the main body unit; and a lower cover disposed below the main body unit and retractably coupled to the main body unit to seal the lower accommodation space, wherein a syringe guide having a hollow tube structure, which extends downward from a protruding-type syringe insertion hole for inserting a syringe, and disposed inside the upper accommodation space is defined at a central portion of a top surface of the upper cover. Here, a syringe nozzle coupling hole having a protruding structure for being coupled with the syringe nozzle is defined at a position spaced apart from the syringe insertion hole, and a PRP extraction tube having a through hole structure, which extends downward from the syringe nozzle coupling hole in the upper accommodation space and having a lower inclinedly cut cross-section, is disposed in the upper accommodation space. Also, when the upper cover descends, a lower end of the syringe guide blocks the bottleneck part and a space above the bottleneck part, and, at the same time, as the end of the PRP extraction tube is pressed and inclined by contacting the inclined surface, while one surface of the PRP extraction tube contacts the syringe guide, an upper end part of the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube having an inclined surface structure contacts the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space, and as a lower end part is slightly spaced apart from the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space, a gap through which solution inside the upper accommodation space flows into the PRP extraction tube is generated.

In the device for extracting PRP, the PRP extraction tube has a structure parallel to the syringe guide when the upper cover ascends. However, when the upper cover descends, the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube is inclined by contacting the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space and contacts the end of the syringe guide. Thus, a predetermined distance may be generated between the lower inclinedly cut cross-section and the inclined surface.

In the device for extracting PRP, when the upper cover ascends, the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube and the inclined surface of the upper accommodation space may have the same inclination angle, each of the syringe insertion hole and the syringe nozzle coupling hole of the upper cover may further include a cover capable of being selectively opened and closed, and forward and backward movements of the upper cover and the lower cover may be performed by rotating the upper cover and the lower cover.

The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein, rather, these embodiments are provided so that those skilled in the art thoroughly understand the present disclosure. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Also, in the figures, a thickness or dimension of each of layers is exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the following embodiments may be modified in various other forms, and thus the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided so as to more fully and complete the present disclosure. In addition, in the drawings, the thickness or size of each layer is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of description.

Throughout the specification, when referring to one component, such as a film, region, or substrate, being located "on", "connected", "stacked", or "coupled to" other elements, it may be construed that the element may be directly in contact with, "on", "connected to", "stacked with", or "coupled to", the other elements, or that there may be other elements intervening between these elements. On the other hand, when it is stated that one element is located "directly on", "directly connected to", or "directly coupled to" other elements, it may be interpreted that there are no other elements intervening between the elements. Uniform symbols refer to uniform elements. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of those listed items.

Although the terms such as "the first", "the second", etc. are used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers and/or parts, it is obvious that these members, components, regions, layers, and/or parts should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish a member, component, region, layer or part from another members, components, regions, layers or parts. Accordingly, a first member, component, region, layer or part discussed below may refer to a second member, component, region, layer or part without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Also, relative terms such as "on" or "above" and "under" or "below" may be used herein to describe the relationship of certain elements to other elements as illustrated in the drawings. It may be understood that relative terms are intended to include other orientations of the element in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if an element is turned over in the figures, elements depicted as being on the upper face will have an orientation toward the underside of the other elements. Thus, the exemplary term "on or over" used herein may include both "under" and "upper" directions depending on the particular orientation of the drawing. If the element is oriented in a different orientation (rotated <NUM> degrees relative to the other orientation), the relative descriptions used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is used to describe specific embodiments, not to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms may include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used herein, "comprise" and/or "comprising" refers to the specific existence of the recited shapes, numbers, steps, actions, members, elements and/or groups thereof and thus does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other shapes, numbers, movements, members, elements and/or groups.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings schematically illustrating ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the illustrated shape can be expected, for example depending on manufacturing technology and/or tolerances. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the specific shape of the region illustrated in drawings, but should include, for example, changes in shape caused by manufacturing.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through embodiments. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The inventors have developed a bio-device (<CIT>) for extracting a haematopoietic stem cell and a mesenchymal stem cell in peripheral blood. This bio-device may easily separate and extract a typical buffy coat layer including a stem cell in blood. However, this invention provides a device for extracting the buffy coat that is a transparent layer exactly distinguished after centrifugation. Thus, in order to extract platelet rich plasma (PRP) disposed below a plasma layer and distinguished from the buffy coat, a novel device is required. In case of a typical commercialized extracting device for PRP extraction, red blood cells, which are intended to be excluded, are contained in an extract. Also, since an extraction process is extremely precise, a concentration of the PRP is not uniform according to extractors to cause a deviation in quality control. Furthermore, since the extraction process requires a delicate manipulation, much time is consumed, and a concentration of the extracted PRP is hardly adjusted from a high concentration to a low concentration. The inventors have completed the present invention in order to resolve above-described limitations by adding a PRP extraction tube for extracting only PRP to the bio-device and developing a device <NUM> for extracting PRP, which is capable of quickly and effectively extracting the highly concentrated PRP.

<FIG> is a schematic perspective view illustrating a shape of a device <NUM> for extracting PRP of the present invention. As illustrated, the device <NUM> for extracting PRP (hereinafter, referred to as the "PRP extracting device <NUM>") of the present invention may be largely divided into a main body unit <NUM>, an upper cover <NUM>, and a lower cover <NUM>. Particularly, the main body <NUM> includes an upper accommodation space <NUM>, a lower accommodation space <NUM> disposed below the upper accommodation space <NUM>, and a bottleneck part <NUM> connecting the upper accommodation space <NUM> to the lower accommodation space <NUM>. In the main body unit <NUM>, a lower end part of the upper accommodation space <NUM> has a shape of which a width gradually decreases in a downward direction, and an upper portion of the lower accommodation space <NUM> has a shape of which a width gradually decreases in an upward direction. Also, the upper cover <NUM> retractably coupled to the main body unit <NUM> along a screw thread (not shown) provided on a surface is provided at an upper portion of the upper accommodation space <NUM>, and the lower cover <NUM> coupled to the main body unit <NUM> along the screw thread provided on the surface is provided at a lower portion of the lower accommodation space <NUM>.

Although each of a syringe insertion hole <NUM> and a syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM> of the upper cover <NUM> has an opened shape in <FIG>, a separate cover for selectively opening and closing an upper portion of each of the syringe insertion hole <NUM> and the syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM> may be provided for pollution prevention of a sample and quickness of work. Also, the upper cover <NUM> in which a syringe guide <NUM> and a platelet rich plasma extraction tube <NUM> are provided may be manufactured to have a shape in which the syringe guide <NUM> and the platelet rich plasma extraction tube <NUM> are capable of being coupled to or separated from the upper cover. The present invention has a technical feature of quickly extracting the PRP according to adjustment of the PRP extraction tube <NUM>, and description for this will be described in detail in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic front view illustrating an inner structure of the upper accommodation space <NUM> of the PRP extracting device <NUM> of the present invention. The protruding-type syringe insertion hole <NUM> for inserting a syringe into the main body unit <NUM> is defined at a central portion of a top surface of the upper cover <NUM>, and the syringe guide <NUM> is provided to have a hollow tube structure, which extends downward from the upper cover <NUM> along the syringe insertion hole <NUM> so that the syringe is disposed inside the upper accommodation space <NUM>. Here, when the upper cover <NUM> descends, a lower end of the syringe guide <NUM> may block the bottleneck part <NUM> and a space above the bottleneck part <NUM>. Also, the protruding-type syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM> capable of being coupled with the syringe nozzle for extracting PRP and having a size less than that of the syringe insertion hole <NUM> is defined next to the syringe insertion hole <NUM> of the upper cover. Here, the PRP extraction tube <NUM> having a hollow tube structure, which extends downward from the upper cover <NUM> along the syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM>, is disposed in the upper accommodation space <NUM> in the form of a <NUM>-shape in parallel to the syringe guide <NUM>.

Also, when the upper cover <NUM> rotates to the right, the syringe guide <NUM> moves downward to block an upper portion of the bottleneck part <NUM>, and when the upper cover <NUM> rotates to the left, the syringe guide <NUM> moves upward to open the upper portion of the bottleneck part <NUM>. According to an operation principle of the syringe guide <NUM>, as the lower cover <NUM> rotates to the right to move the lower cover <NUM> upward after blood is centrifuged, the buffy coat layer disposed in the lower accommodation space <NUM> may be positioned at the bottleneck part <NUM>, and then the syringe guide <NUM> may move to block the upper portion of the bottleneck part <NUM> by rotating the upper cover <NUM> to the right. Thereafter, the syringe may be inserted into the syringe guide <NUM> to collect only the buffy coat layer of the bottleneck part <NUM>. Also, the PRP extraction tube <NUM>, which passes through the upper cover <NUM> along the syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM> and extends downward to be disposed in the upper accommodation space <NUM>, may operate like the syringe guide <NUM>. That is, the PRP extraction tube <NUM> may move upward or downward by adjusting the upper cover <NUM>. Here, due to a lower inclinedly cut cross-section shape of the end of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> and a structure of an inclined surface 11a of the upper accommodation space, in which the lower end part of the upper accommodation space has a width gradually decreasing in a downward direction, the buffy coat layer and the PRP layer may be sequentially extracted. In the above description, in order to easily describe the operation principle of the PRP extraction device <NUM> of the present invention, although the movement of each of the syringe guide <NUM> and the PRP extraction tube <NUM> according to the rotation of each of the upper cover <NUM> and the lower cover <NUM> is specified to the right or left direction, this may be changed or adjusted in manufacturing according to convenience of a user. For example, each of the syringe guide <NUM> and the PRP extraction tube <NUM> moves downward when the upper cover rotate to the left and moves upward when the upper cover rotates to the right.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a blood sample is accommodated in the PRP extracting device <NUM> of the present invention. When a process of collecting a blood sample is described in more detail, firstly, an anticoagulant is suctioned by a syringe before blood is collected. An appropriate amount of the anticoagulant is about <NUM>% of an amount of the blood to be collected. Thereafter, blood is collected from a patient by using the syringe in which the anticoagulant is suctioned. After the blood of the patient is collected, the upper cover <NUM> of the PRP extracting device <NUM> of the present invention may be opened, and the blood may be injected into the main body unit <NUM> by the syringe, and the syringe from which a needle is removed may be inserted through the syringe insertion hole <NUM>, and then the blood may be discharged to the lower end of the syringe guide <NUM> and injected to a direction toward the lower accommodation space <NUM> of the main body unit <NUM>. Here, when the blood is injected into the PRP extracting device <NUM> in a state in which the lower end of the syringe guide closely contacts an upper end of the bottleneck part <NUM> of the main body unit <NUM> by rotating the upper cover <NUM> in one direction, since the inner space of the main body unit <NUM> is sealed, the blood injection may be hardly performed, and since the bottleneck part <NUM> is blocked by the lower end of the syringe guide <NUM>, the injected blood may not move down to the lower accommodation space <NUM>. Thus, when the blood is injected, the upper cover <NUM> may rotate by a predetermined amount in an opposite direction to secure a space between the syringe guide <NUM> and the bottleneck part <NUM>, and when coupling between the upper cover <NUM> and the main body unit <NUM> is loosened, the blood injection may be smoothly performed, and the injected blood may move down to the lower accommodation space <NUM> through the bottleneck part <NUM>.

When the blood sample is centrifuged, the blood sample is separated into a plasma portion, which is an uppermost layer, and a red blood cell layer, which is a lowermost layer, as described above. The buffy coat, which is a thin layer in which platelets and leucocytes are concentrated, is distributed at a boundary between the plasma and the red blood cell layer, and a PRP layer is distributed above the buffy coat.

The device <NUM> for extracting PRP of the present invention is a device for effectively extracting PRP. Here, before a sample is extracted, the syringe guide <NUM> and the PRP extraction tube <NUM> form a parallel structure to each other. However, when the upper cover <NUM> rotates to the right, the syringe guide <NUM> and the PRP extraction tube <NUM> simultaneously move downward. When the upper cover <NUM> is in a state of being unable to rotate to the right (locked state), the syringe guide <NUM> blocks the upper portion of the bottleneck part <NUM>, and as the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> contacts the inclined surface 11a of the upper accommodation space, the shape of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> is inclined, and one surface of the lower inclinedly cut cross-section contacts the syringe guide <NUM>. Here, while a structure in which an upper end part 24a of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> contacts the inclined surface 11a of the upper accommodation space, and an lower end part 24b does not contact the inclined surface 11a, is maintained, i.e., a predetermined distance between the lower inclinedly cut cross-section and the inclined surface 11a is formed, the PRP is extracted through a syringe (not shown) coupled to the syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM>. The process of extracting the PRP will be described in detail in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the process of extracting the PRP according to an operation of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> of the PRP extracting device <NUM> of the present invention. As illustrated, the blood sample is centrifuged, and then, as the upper cover <NUM> rotates to the right, the syringe guide <NUM> and the PRP extraction tube <NUM> move downward, and the syringe guide <NUM> completely blocks the upper portion of the bottleneck part <NUM>. Also, as the PRP extraction tube <NUM> also moves downward, and the end of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> is pressed and inclined by contacting the inclined surface 11a, while one surface of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> contacts the syringe guide <NUM>, the upper end part 24a of the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube <NUM> having an inclined surface structure contacts the inclined surface 11a of the upper accommodation space, and as the lower end part 24b is slightly spaced apart from the inclined surface 11a of the upper accommodation space, a gap through which the solution inside the upper accommodation space <NUM> flows into the PRP extraction tube <NUM> is generated. Here, when the syringe is coupled to the syringe nozzle coupling hole <NUM> defined in the upper cover <NUM>, and then a negative pressure is applied, while a PRP layer (b) distributed around the PRP extraction tube <NUM> moves upward along the PRP extraction tube <NUM> inserted through the space, only the PRP may be effectively extracted through the syringe <NUM>. Although, during the extraction process, a plasma layer (a) may be suctioned and extracted instead of the PRP layer (b), in general, when blood of <NUM> cc is centrifuged, PRP of <NUM> cc to <NUM> cc may be extracted. Thus, when extraction is performed until <NUM> cc on a scale of the syringe <NUM> having a volume of <NUM> cc and then the syringe is removed, only the highly concentrated PRP may be extracted without being mixed with the plasma layer (b), and thus a mixture may be prevented. Also, a final volume of the PRP may be selectively adjusted according to worker's know-how and the kind of disease.

Claim 1:
A device (<NUM>) for extracting platelet rich plasma (PRP), the device comprising:
a main body unit (<NUM>) comprising an upper accommodation space (<NUM>) having a lower end part having an inclined surface having a width gradually decreasing in a downward direction, a lower accommodation space (<NUM>) disposed below the upper accommodation space (<NUM>) and having an upper end part having a width gradually decreasing in an upward direction, and a bottleneck part (<NUM>) that is a passage connecting the upper accommodation space (<NUM>) and the lower accommodation space (<NUM>);
an upper cover (<NUM>) disposed above the main body unit (<NUM>) and retractably coupled to the main body unit (<NUM>); and
a lower cover (<NUM>) disposed below the main body unit and retractably coupled to the main body unit to seal the lower accommodation space, (<NUM>)
wherein a syringe guide (<NUM>) having a hollow tube structure, which extends downward from a protruding-type syringe insertion hole (<NUM>) for inserting a syringe, and disposed inside the upper accommodation space (<NUM>) is defined at a central portion of a top surface of the upper cover (<NUM>),
wherein, a syringe nozzle coupling hole (<NUM>) having a protruding structure for being coupled with a syringe nozzle is defined at a position spaced apart from the syringe insertion hole (<NUM>), and a PRP extraction tube (<NUM>) having a through hole structure, which extends downward from the syringe nozzle coupling hole in the upper accommodation space (<NUM>) and having a lower inclinedly cut cross-section, is disposed in the upper accommodation space (<NUM>),
wherein, when the upper cover descends, a lower end of the syringe guide blocks the bottleneck part (<NUM>) and a space above the bottleneck part, and, at the same time, as the end of the PRP extraction tube (<NUM>) is pressed and inclined by contacting the inclined surface (11a), while one surface of the PRP extraction tube (<NUM>) contacts the syringe guide (<NUM>), an upper end part (24a) of the lower inclinedly cut cross-section of the PRP extraction tube (<NUM>) having an inclined surface structure contacts the inclined surface (<NUM>1a) of the upper accommodation space (<NUM>), and as a lower end part (24b) is slightly spaced apart from the inclined surface (11a) of the upper accommodation space (<NUM>), a gap through which solution inside the upper accommodation space (<NUM>) flows into the PRP extraction tube (<NUM>) is generated.