Airdrive: donor organ transportsystem
Doorzand
Airdrive® is a new disposable perfusion system, produced by Doorzand and designed by Indes. The “donor organ box” is lightweight (8kg), compact and low cost. The Airdrive® oxygenates, preserves and safeguards donor organs for 48 hours. It is suitable for pulsatile perfusion of kidneys and continuous portal and pulsatile arterial perfusion of liver grafts. A tremendous improvement in the condition of the organs is thereby achieved, resulting in an increase in transplantable donor organs.
Indes has developed various disposables for the Airdrive, the transport system for donor organs. One of these is the pump that simulates a beating heart. The organ is kept artificially alive in the Airdrive. The pump ensures that pulsating perfusion liquid (blood replacement fluid) is pumped through the organ. Indes developed a membrane pump that is driven by an oxygen bottle. This solution is cheaper and avoids the need for a heavy battery. It is also a more environmentally friendly option.
The oxygenator, a device that supplies oxygen to the blood. Oxygenators are used in kidney dialysis machines, for example. Because of the requirements this application has to meet, the cost price is relatively high. Since the oxygenator is non-reusable, Doorzand asked Indes to design a cheaper solution. Together, we developed a simple, low-priced alternative that meets the desired specifications. This has cut the cost price to about 5% of what it used to be.The ‘patch clamp’, which connects the Airdrive pump system to the donor organ.
The clamp is attached to the tissue of the aorta or directly to the organ. For this purpose, Indes designed a complex injection-moulded product with a built-in flexible rubber gasket. This gasket ensures that various tissue thicknesses are properly sealed and that there is no risk of damage. This being a non-reusable product, a low cost price is very important.
Indes has managed the technical project, involved and selected the suppliers and provided the certification files. Besides the development and testing of the pump system itself, Indes was also responsible for the aesthetical design of the transport box and the organ container.
Using the Indes UCID® methodology a good balance was found between user friendliness, functionality and cost price. Development of the system took a period of approximately 2½ years; which, for a complex medical disposable as this, can be considered as very fast.