Patent ID: 8550703

Claim:
A system for use in freezing or thawing a biopharmaceutical material, said system comprising; a container means having a receiving cavity for receiving a biopharmaceutical material therein; a support member connected to and supported by said container means; a transmitter configured to propagate an ultrasonic pulse into said biopharmaceutical material, said transmitter located in a support member cavity of said support member, said support member cavity bounded by a plurality of walls of said support member; an exterior wall of said plurality of walls bounding said receiving cavity, said support member cavity comprising a coupling agent therein; an ultrasonic sensor configured to sense a reflection of said pulse in said biopharmaceutical material, said sensor located in said support member cavity, said coupling agent located between said sensor and said exterior wall to acoustically couple said sensor to said receiving cavity and the biopharmaceutical material; and a controller coupled to said transmitter and said sensor, said controller configured to determine a phase change of said biopharmaceutical material based on said propagation of said pulse by said transmitter and said sense of said reflection by said sensor; and wherein said support member cavity comprises a sensor well and said transmitter comprises a probe located in said sensor well such that an end of said probe extends into a portion of said sensor well surrounded by a liquid portion of said biopharmaceutical material.