Modular Extracorporeal Systems and Methods for Treating Blood-Borne Diseases

Abstract

Extracorporeal systems and methods for treating blood-borne diseases in a subject or for developing drugs to treat blood-borne diseases include various environmental and treatment modules that can be tailored to a specific disease or infection. In certain embodiments of the systems and methods, a blood sample is treated with cold plasma and optionally with hydrostatic pressure, a pulsed electrical field, a pharmaceutical agent, microwave, centrifugation, sonification, radiation, or a combination thereof, under environmental conditions that are effective for the treatment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An extracorporeal method for treating a blood-borne disease comprising the steps of:
 a) removing blood from a subject;   b) contacting the blood with an anticoagulant;   c) optionally separating the blood into two or more blood fractions;   d) optionally modifying the environment of the blood or a blood fraction;   e) treating the blood or blood fraction with cold plasma;   f) treating the blood or blood fraction with hydrostatic pressure, a pulsed electrical field, a pharmaceutical agent, centrifugation, microwave, radiation, sonification, or a combination thereof; and   g) returning at least a portion of the blood or blood fraction to the subject.   
     
     
         2 . An extracorporeal system comprising:
 a) a blood removal port;   b) an anticoagulant module;   c) a module adapted to modify the environment of blood or a blood fraction;   d) a treatment module adapted to administer cold plasma;   e) one or more treatment modules adapted to administer hydrostatic pressure, a pulsed electrical field, a pharmaceutical agent, microwave, centrifugation, radiation, sonification, or a combination thereof; and   f) a blood return port.