Smart bag used in sensing physiological and/or physical parameters of bags containing biological substance

Abstract

A cost-effective, single use bag or container is provided for storing biological substances that incorporates on its inner wall an electronic device that is configured to measure physiological and/or physical parameters of the enclosed biological substances, such as source history, identification, demographics, time stamping, temperature, pH, conductivity, glucose, O 2 , CO 2 levels etc. The electronic device of the disclosed bag comprises a sensor configured to measure physiological and/or physical parameters of the biological substances enclosed within the bag, and a radio-frequency (RF) device communicably coupled to the sensor and configured to: (a) acquire from the sensor data associated with the measured parameters, (b) store the acquired sensor data in nonvolatile memory, and (c) communicate the stored data wirelessly to a RF reader.

1 - 16 : (canceled) 
     
     
         17 : An enclosure for monitoring an enclosed biological substance during a thawing process, the enclosure comprising:
 a body defining an interior volume configured to receive the enclosed biological substance;   an opening configured to allow transfer of the enclosed biological substance to and from the interior volume;   a sensor coupled to an interior facing wall of the body, the sensor configured to be in direct contact with an exterior surface of the enclosed biological substance received within the interior volume, and to measure a physiological and/or a physical parameter of the biological substance during the thawing process; and   an RFID tag communicatively coupled to the sensor.   
     
     
         18 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the RFID tag is facing in a direction opposite to the sensor. 
     
     
         19 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the sensor and the RFID tag are integrated into an electronic device, and the electronic device is coupled to the interior facing wall of the body. 
     
     
         20 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor. 
     
     
         21 : The enclosure of  claim 18  further comprising a heat-nonconductive layer configured to inhibit thermal communication between the temperature sensor and ambient temperature. 
     
     
         22 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the enclosed biological substance is a bag containing the biological substance. 
     
     
         23 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the enclosure is an overwrap bag. 
     
     
         24 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the enclosure is composed of a material having high thermal conductivity. 
     
     
         25 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the interior volume is sized to receive an enclosed biological substance having a volume of 250 milliliters to 500 milliliters. 
     
     
         26 : The enclosure of  claim 17 , wherein the enclosure is reversibly sealable. 
     
     
         27 : The enclosure of  claim 17  further comprising an engaging mechanism at the opening. 
     
     
         28 : A method for detecting or monitoring a physiological and/or a physical parameter of a biological substance during a thawing process, the method comprising:
 placing an enclosed biological substance in the enclosure of  claim 17 ;   acquiring data associated with the physical and/or the physiological parameter of the biological substance during the thawing process using the sensor; and   storing the acquired sensor data on the RFID tag.   
     
     
         29 : The method of  claim 28  further comprising communicating the stored data wirelessly to a RF reader. 
     
     
         30 : The method of  claim 28 , wherein the biological substance is fresh, frozen, or thawed. 
     
     
         31 : The method of  claim 28 , wherein the biological substance is selected from the group consisting of: medication, plasma, whole blood, glycerolized blood, and RBCs. 
     
     
         32 : The method of  claim 28 , wherein the physical parameter of the biological substance is one or more of: identification, source history, demographic data, and time stamping. 
     
     
         33 : The method of  claim 28 , wherein the physiological parameter of the biological substance is one or more of: temperature, pH, conductivity, glucose, O 2 , and CO 2  levels. 
     
     
         34 : The method of  claim 28 , wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor and the physiological and/or physical parameter of the biological substance is the temperature of the biological substance. 
     
     
         35 : The method  claim 28 , wherein the enclosed biological substance is placed within the enclosure such that the sensor is in direct contact with the exterior surface of the enclosed biological substance. 
     
     
         36 : A method for detecting or monitoring a physiological and/or a physical parameter of a biological substance in an enclosure during a thawing process, the method comprising:
 placing the enclosure containing the biological substance within the body of a second enclosure;   acquiring data associated with the physical and/or the physiological parameter of the biological substance contained within the body of the second enclosure during the thawing process using a sensor attached to an interior facing wall of the body, wherein the sensor is in contact with an exterior surface of the enclosure containing the biological substance;   storing the acquired sensor data on a RFID tag; and   communicating the stored data wirelessly to a RF reader.