FILTER FOR REMOVING SMOKE DURING A MEDICAL PROCEDURE

Field of Disclosure

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a filter for use in a medical procedure such as a surgical operation. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a filter adapted for removing smoke generated by a device used in the course of surgery or other procedure. The present disclosure is also directed to systems and methods utilizing such filters.

Background

[0002] During certain surgical operations, a vacuum source may be used to collect shed blood or other fluids from a patient. For instance, blood shed from a patient may be retrieved and/or salvaged and an associated blood processing system may be used to cleanse the shed blood and reinfuse the blood to the patient. This is sometimes referred to as intraoperative blood salvage. Such systems may use a vacuum pump to create a negative pressure to draw blood or fluid into the system. In doing so, the vacuum pump may also draw unwanted liquid and/or other debris, such as tissue, bone fragments, and the like, into the vacuum line towards the vacuum pump. Additionally, inasmuch as such systems may be used continuously over several hours, condensation may appear in and/or be drawn into the vacuum line.

[0003] Accordingly, filtering assemblies may be used in surgical procedures to protect vacuum pumps from clogging and to protect the environment, patients, and operators from potential contamination. Generally, such filter assemblies include a hydrophobic filter medium and contain antibacterial/antiviral properties. These filters may typically be made of teflon (ePTFE expanded poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) membranes. One such filter is described in International Publication WO 2018/158028, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0004] Certain surgical procedures and the instruments used in such procedures may produce what is commonly referred to as “surgical smoke.” Surgical smoke may include noxious gases, proteins, particles whose size depends on the type of surgery and type of tissue, viable viruses and bacteria, and biological debris. Due to its complex composition, surgical smoke may impair aspiration at the wound site by clogging the hydrophobic antibacterial filter, creating at the very least an inconvenience for the surgeon and potential damage to the vacuum device used to remove unwanted byproducts and debris.

[0005] Typically, in surgical operations that produce smoke, a smoke filter may be used to alleviate the issues caused by smoke. Generally, to retain contaminants in smoke, particularly biological debris, depth filtration is employed. Depth filtration systems utilize large pore size filter media to prevent clogging, long paths through the filter medium, large surface areas to accommodate the dirt without clogging the pores and specificity for interception onto the porous matrix. The filter media of smoke filters are typically made of glass fiber and are not hydrophobic, thus becoming impaired if they become wet from surgical air condensation and or unwanted liquid being drawn into the vacuum line.

[0006] Additionally, smoke filters are typically stand-alone, multi-use disposable medical devices. In cases where the smoke filter is used more than once, the hospital/health care professional is responsible for replacing the filter. Furthermore, some procedures may require multiple smoke filters.

[0007] Such smoke filters are expensive, impractical, and make traceability more difficult. Therefore, there is a need for an improved hydrophobic filter and more efficient systems and methods for removing smoke during a surgical procedure.

Summary

[0008] There are several aspects of the present subject matter which may be embodied separately or together in the devices and systems described and claimed below. These aspects may be employed alone or in combination with other aspects of the subject matter described herein, and the description of these aspects together is not intended to preclude the use of these aspects separately or the claiming of such aspects separately or in different combinations as set forth in the claims appended hereto.

[0009] In one aspect, a filter assembly including a filter for removing smoke generated in surgical operations is provided. The filter includes a housing defining a filter chamber. The filter also includes an inlet port located on the housing in fluid communication with an inlet line and an outlet port located on the housing in fluid communication with an outlet line. A hydrophobic smoke filtering medium is located within the filter chamber, wherein the hydrophobic smoke filtering medium includes silicone.

[00010] In another aspect, a blood processing system is provided. The blood processing system includes a blood source, a blood container in fluid communication with the blood source, and a vacuum source in fluid communication with the blood container. The blood processing container also includes at least one filter located between the vacuum source and the blood container, wherein the at least one filter includes a hydrophobic smoke filtering medium. The hydrophobic smoke filtering medium includes silicone.

[00011] In yet another aspect, a method for filtering surgical smoke is provided. The method includes drawing smoke out of a blood processing system with a vacuum source and passing the smoke through at least one filter, wherein the at least one filter contains a hydrophobic smoke filtering medium and wherein the smoke filtering medium includes silicone.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[00012] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a blood processing system with a filter for removing smoke;

[00013] Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a blood processing system with a combined filter;

[00014] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of a filter for removing smoke;

[00015] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of a combined filter;

[00016] Fig. 5 is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of an embodiment of the smoke filtering medium;

[00017] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic view of another embodiment of a filter for removing smoke;

[00018] Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a filter housing;

[00019] Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional schematic side view of an embodiment of the housing of Fig. 7; and

[00020] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional schematic view of another embodiment of a combined filter; and

[00021] Fig. 10 is another embodiment of a blood processing system with a smoke filter. Detailed Description of the Drawings

[00022] A more detailed description of the device, systems, and methods in accordance with the present disclosure is set forth below. It should be understood that the description below of specific devices, systems, and methods is intended to be exemplary, and not exhaustive of all possible variations or applications. Thus, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limiting and should be understood to encompass variations or embodiments that would occur to persons of ordinary skill.

[00023] During certain surgical operations, systems containing a vacuum source may be used for various purposes, including, but not limited to, collecting blood or other fluid from a patient in an intraoperative blood salvage procedure. Such systems may include at least one filter, such as an antibacterial/antiviral filter (shown in Fig. 1), in fluid communication with the vacuum source to protect the vacuum source from drawing in any substances, such as liquid or debris, which may impair the functionality of the vacuum source.

[00024] In certain instances, a surgical operation and the instruments used in such operations may generate surgical smoke. Surgical smoke can be a complex composition including, but not limited to, noxious gases, proteins, particles (whose size depends on the type of surgery and type of tissue), viable viruses and bacteria, and biological debris. In surgical operations generating surgical smoke, the vacuum source may also draw the smoke into the vacuum line. Because of the complex composition of the smoke, the hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter may become clogged, impairing aspiration at the wound site and, at the very least, inconvenience the surgeon.

[00025] A hydrophobic smoke filter or hydrophobic smoke filtering medium, as shown and described below, may be located upstream the antibacterial/antiviral filter to prevent the antibacterial/antiviral filter from clogging due to the composition of surgical smoke.

[00026] The terms “downstream” and “upstream” refer to locations of devices and components of a system based on the direction of flow of air or fluid towards the vacuum source from the blood collection container. Thus, a component that is described as downstream relative to another component is deemed to be closer to the vacuum source than another component that is located farther away from the vacuum source. A component that is described as being “upstream” relative to another component is farther away from the vacuum source than the other component.

[00027] Figs.1 and 2 show a schematic view of an example of a blood processing system 10 that may be used during a surgical operation. For example, the blood processing system 10 may be an autotransfusion system used to collect shed blood from a surgical site of a patient. The shed blood may be processed and re-infused to the patient. One such autotransfusion system is the CATS vacuum line ATV-F140C from Fresenius Kabi of Bad Homburg, Germany.

[00028] During surgery, shed blood may be collected at the surgical site of a patient via collection line 18 into a blood collection container 12. The blood collected in the blood collection container 12 may be continuously drawn into a processing chamber 16 in which blood may be separated and/or washed for re-infusion into the patient via a return line 22. The transfusion may take place continuously such that blood may be continuously collected from the patient and continuously processed for re-infusing the processed blood components into the patient.

[00029] The collection line 18 is in fluid communication with the blood collection container 12. The collection line 18 may include a fluid collection device at its distal end 17. The fluid collection device may be, but is not limited to being, a suction wand, a catheter, or a syringe. Other devices known in the art to collect fluid from a patient may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Collection line 18 may be connected at its proximal end 19 to an inlet arranged on the blood collection container 12. Blood may be drawn into the blood collection container 12 by creating a negative pressure within the blood collection container 12.

[00030] A negative pressure may be created by means of a vacuum line 24 and a vacuum source 14. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, vacuum line 24 is in fluid communication with the blood collection container 12 and a vacuum source 14. Vacuum source 14 may be, but not limited to, a vacuum pump, syringe, or other source known in the art capable of creating a negative pressure. A distal end 23 of the vacuum line 24 may be connected to an outlet port of the blood collection container 12 and a proximal end 25 of the vacuum line 24 may be connected to the vacuum source 14.

[00031] Vacuum source 14 creates the negative pressure in the blood collection container 12 by drawing air out of the container 12. As the vacuum source 14 draws air out of the blood collection container 12, liquid and debris that may be present in the patient’s shed blood may be drawn through vacuum line 24. Vacuum line 24 may contain at least one filter in fluid communication with the vacuum source 14 and the blood collection container 12. For example, to keep any liquid and/or debris from entering the vacuum source 14, a hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 may be placed in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 and the vacuum source 14.

[00032] Antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 may contain a filter housing 30 defining a filter chamber 31 . Additionally, the housing 30 may include an inlet 32 and an outlet 34.

The vacuum line 24 extending from the blood collection container 12 is in fluid communication with and connected to the inlet 32, whereas the line 24 extending towards the vacuum source 14 is in fluid communication with and connected to the outlet 34.

[00033] Antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 may include an antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 located within the filter chamber 31 of filter 26. In an example, the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be a hydrophobic porous membrane having pores sized to remove selected bacteria, viruses, and other undesirable compounds. The hydrophobic membrane may be a Teflon membrane. In some examples, the hydrophobic membrane may be made of an expanded poly-tetra-fluoro- ethylene (ePTFE) membrane. Other antibacterial/antiviral hydrophobic membranes known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00034] In surgical operations generating surgical smoke, the vacuum source 14 may also draw generated smoke into the vacuum line 24. Because of the complex composition of the smoke, the hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 may become clogged, impairing aspiration at the wound site and causing a severe inconvenience for the surgeon.

[00035] Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 1 , in one example, a filter 36 for removing smoke may be provided and located upstream of and between the hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 and the blood collection container 12. Placing filter 36 upstream of antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 keeps smoke from reaching and potentially clogging the hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter 26 or from entering the vacuum source 14.

[00036] Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of a filter 36 for removing smoke that may be used in the blood processing system 10 of Fig. 1 . [00037] In one example, filter 36 may include a housing 38 defining a filter chamber 39. The filter housing 38 may be formed from a plastic/polymeric material. Other materials known in the art suitable to form a filter housing may also be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The housing 38 may contain an inlet 42 and an outlet 44. The inlet 42 may be in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 extending towards the blood collection container 12 and the outlet 44 may be in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 extending towards the antibacterial/antiviral filter 26. A hydrophobic smoke filtering medium 40 may be located inside the filter chamber 39.

[00038] Due to the complex nature of surgical smoke, depth filtration systems may be utilized. Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view of a depth filtration system. Depth filtration incorporates one or more of the following (1) pores 58 sized to prevent clogging of the smoke filtering medium 40, (2) long flow path channels through the smoke filtering medium 40, (3) a large surface area to accommodate and capture the undesired particles without clogging the pores 58 and (4) specificity for interception onto the porous matrix.

[00039] In one embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be made of a polyurethane foam. The polyurethane foam may be, for example, but not limited to, approximately 3 to 10 mm thick. More preferably, the polyurethane foam may be approximately 4 to 7 mm thick.

[00040] In another embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be made of a nonwoven material. The nonwoven material may be, for example, but not limited to, a spunbond or melt blown nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven material may be as described in International Patent Publication WO2013/110694 filed on January 24, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nonwoven material may have a basis weight between approximately 20 and 100g/m ² , and a thickness of approximately 0.1 to 0.6 mm, and more preferably a thickness of approximately 0.15 mm to 0.25 mm. In certain instances, the nonwoven material may be layered to create the smoke filter medium 40. For example, the smoke filter medium 40 may include 1 to 10 layers of the nonwoven material. More preferably, filtering medium 40 may include 1 to 5 layers, or 1 to 3 layers.

[00041] Other depth filtration media known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00042] The smoke filtering medium 40 may typically be hydrophobic. In one embodiment, the filtering medium 40 may be rendered hydrophobic by coating one or more surfaces of the medium with a hydrophobic agent, such as silicone. Treating the smoke filtering medium 40 with silicone to promote hydrophobicity prevents the filter from clogging due to liquid or condensation drawn up by the vacuum source 14 from the blood collection container 12. Furthermore, siliconization of the filter medium 40 induces an affinity towards proteins often found in surgical smoke.

[00043] In one embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be siliconized with a siliconizing agent, for example, but not limited to, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or simethicone. Siliconization of the smoke filtering medium 40 leads to deposition of the treatment on the struts of the foam or nonwoven smoke filtering medium.

[00044] To treat the filtering medium 40 with silicone, the filtering medium may be coated with the siliconizing agent by dip-coating, spraying, or painting. Other surface coating techniques may be used and are described in EP0630656 filed on May 24, 1994, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. For example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be dipped in an aqueous emulsion containing PDMS or simethicone. Other methods of coating known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The method may involve centrifugation to let the hydrophobic coating penetrate the porous structure of the filtering medium 40.

[00045] After the smoke filtering medium 40 has been coated, it may then be squeezed and dried. The medium may be dried, for example, in an oven at a temperature between 40 and 110°C for a time up to 20 hours. Longer drying times may be necessary when using lower temperatures. In certain instances, quick drying may not be desirable because it may cause an accumulation of deposit on the outer surface of the filtering medium where evaporation occurs and a depletion in the inner part of the porous structure. Other drying methods may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00046] As shown in Fig. 3, the smoke filtering medium 40 may extend from a top edge 41 of the smoke filter chamber 39 to a bottom edge 43 of the smoke filter chamber 39, to avoid smoke or other substances from bypassing filtering medium 40. In one example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may abut the inner surface of housing 38 that defines chamber 39 at inlet 42. In another example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be spaced from the inner surface of housing 38 and inlet 42 in the smoke filter chamber 39. In yet another example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be spaced from the inlet 42 and abut the inner surface of housing 38 that defines chamber 39 at the outlet 44. In yet another example, the smoke filtering medium may at least substantially fill chamber 39 and abut both inner surfaces of the housing 38 at the inlet 42 and the outlet 44 inside the smoke filter chamber 39.

[00047] Due to the hydrophobicity of the smoke filtering material 40, liquid and/or condensation 45 may aggregate inside the filter chamber 39 near the bottom edge 43 of the filter housing 38. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, to prevent the aggregated liquid/condensation 45 from blocking the inlet port 42, inlet port 42 may be located towards the top edge 41 of the filter housing 38. In another embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, the inlet port 42 may be oriented in a perpendicular position relative to the outlet port 44. The inlet port 42 oriented in a perpendicular position relative to the outlet port 44 may also be located near the top edge 41 of the filter housing 38.

[00048] As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the filter housing 38 may, for example, be formed from two separate housing sub-members 38a, 38b which are joined to each other. The members may be joined to each other, for example by welding, such as ultrasonic welding. Other methods known in the art to join the members may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The inlet port 42 may, for example, be arranged on a first housing sub-member 38a, wherein the outlet port 44 is arranged on a second housing member 38b.

[00049] In one embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be attached to either the first or second housing sub-member 38a, 38b by means of clamping, welding, or press-fitting. Other methods of attaching the smoke filtering medium 40 to the housing 38 known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Either the first or second housing member 38a, 38b may include a support structure formed by a multiplicity of ridges 37 extending into the filter chamber 39 to support the smoke filtering medium 40.

[00050] Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of the system 10 that may include a single combined antibacterial/antiviral and smoke filter 46. The combined filter 46 may contain both a smoke filtering medium 40 and an antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28.

[00051] Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of a combined filter 46. Combined filter 46 may include a housing 48 defining a filter chamber 49. The combined filter housing 48 may be a housing as described in International Publication WO 2018/158028 filed on February 1 , 2018, which has been previously incorporated by reference in its entirety. The combined filter housing 48 may be formed from a plastic/polymeric material. Other materials known in the art suitable to form a filter housing may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The housing 48 may contain an inlet port 50 and an outlet port 52. The inlet port 50 may be in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 extending towards the blood collection container 12 and the outlet port 52 may be in fluid communication with the vacuum line 24 extending towards the vacuum source 14.

[00052] A combined filter 46 includes both a hydrophobic smoke filtering medium 40 and an antibacterial/anti viral filtering medium 28 located inside the filter chamber 49 of a single housing.

[00053] The antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be of the type previously described herein. In an example, the hydrophobic filtering medium may be a membrane. The hydrophobic membrane may be a Teflon membrane. In some examples, antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be made of an ePTFE membrane. Other antibacterial/antiviral hydrophobic membranes known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00054] The smoke filtering medium 40 may be a siliconized depth filtration medium as already described herein. In one embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be made of a polyurethane foam. The polyurethane foam may be, for example, but not limited to, approximately 3 to 7 mm thick. More preferably, the polyurethane foam may be approximately 5 to 7 mm thick.

[00055] In another embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be made of a nonwoven material. The nonwoven material may be, for example, but not limited to, a spunbond or melt-blown nonwoven fabric. Additionally, the nonwoven material may be such as described in International Patent Publication WO2013/110694 filed on January 24, 2013, which has been incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nonwoven material may have a basis weight between approximately 20 and 100g/m ² and may have a thickness of approximately 0.1 to 0.6 mm, and more preferably a thickness of approximately 0.15 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.25 mm, or 0.3 mm. In certain instances, the nonwoven material may be layered to create the smoke filter medium 40. For example, the smoke filter medium 40 may contain 1 to 10 layers of the nonwoven material. More preferably, filtering medium 40 may include 1 to 5 layers, or 1 to 3 layers.

[00056] Other depth filtration media known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00057] As described above in connection with the stand-alone filter for removing smoke, in one embodiment, the smoke filtering medium 40 of a combined filter may be treated with a siliconizing agent, for example, but not limited to, PDMS or simethicone.

[00058] To siliconize the smoke filtering medium 40, the smoke filtering medium may be coated with the siliconizing agent by dip-coating, spraying, or painting. Other surface coating techniques may be used and are described in EP0630656 filed on May 24, 1994, which has previously been incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. For example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be dipped in an aqueous emulsion containing PDMS or simethicone. Other methods of coating known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The method may involve centrifugation to let the hydrophobic coating penetrate the porous structure of the filtering medium 40.

[00059] After the smoke filtering medium 40 has been coated, it may then be squeezed and dried. The medium may be dried, for example, in an oven, as described above in connection to with the stand-alone filter for removing smoke. Other drying methods may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00060] As shown in Fig. 4 and as described above in connection with a standalone filter for removing smoke, the smoke filtering medium 40 of the combined filter may extend from a top edge 54 of the filter chamber 49 to a bottom edge 56 of the filter chamber 49 to prevent smoke or other substances from bypassing filtering medium 40. In one example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may abut the inlet 50 inside the filter chamber 49. In another example, the smoke filtering medium may be spaced from the inlet 50 in the filter chamber 49.

[00061] The siliconized smoke filtering medium 40 of the combined filter is located upstream of the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 and between the filter inlet 50 and the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28. This positioning allows any smoke, liquid, and/or debris to captured by the smoke filtering medium 40 of the combined filter 46 first, thereby preventing the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 from becoming clogged by the smoke.

[00062] The antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28, located downstream of the smoke filter medium 40, may extend from a top edge 54 of the filter chamber 49 to a bottom edge 56 of the filter chamber 49. In one example the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may abut the smoke filtering medium 40, while being spaced from the filter outlet 52. In another example the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be spaced from both the smoke filtering medium 40 and the filter outlet 52. In yet another example, the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may abut the filter outlet 52.

[00063] Also, as described above, due to the hydrophobicity of the smoke filtering material 40, liquid and/or condensation 45 may aggregate inside the filter chamber 49 near the bottom edge 56 of the filter housing 48. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, to prevent the aggregated liquid/condensation 45 from blocking the inlet port 50, inlet port 50 may be located towards the top edge 54 of the filter housing 48. Additionally, to prevent any aggregated liquid and/or condensation from blocking the inlet port 50, the filter housing 48 may contain a collection chamber 51 , such as the one described in International Publication WO 2018/158028, which has previously been incorporated by reference in its entirety. In another embodiment (not shown), the inlet port 50 may be oriented in a perpendicular position relative to the outlet port 52. The inlet port 50 oriented in a perpendicular position relative to the outlet port 52 may also be located near the top edge 54 of the filter housing 48.

[00064] The filter housing 48 of the combined filter may be similar to the housing shown in Figs. 7-8 and described herein. The filter housing 48 may also be a housing as described in International Publication WO 2018/158028, which has previously been incorporated by reference in its entirety. For example, filter housing 48 may be formed from two separate housing sub-members which are joined together. The sub-members may be joined to each other for example by welding, such as sonic welding. The inlet port 50 may for example be located on and/or carried by first housing sub-member, wherein the outlet port 52 is located on and/or carried by a second housing member. [00065] As described above, in one example, the smoke filtering medium 40 may be attached to the first housing sub-member by means of clamping, welding, or pressfitting. Other methods of attaching the smoke filtering medium 40 to the housing known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the first housing sub-member may include a support structure formed by a plurality of ridges extending into the filter chamber 49 to support the smoke filtering medium 40.

[00066] Furthermore, the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be attached to the second housing sub-member by means of clamping, welding, or pressfitting. Other methods known in the art to attach the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 to the housing may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the filter second housing member may include a support structure formed by a multiplicity of ridges extending into the filter chamber 49 to support the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28.

[00067] In another example, both the smoke filtering medium 40 and the antibacterial/antiviral filtering medium 28 may be attached to either the first housing member or the second housing member. Either the first or second housing sub-member may include a support structure formed by a multiplicity of ridges extending into the filter chamber 49 to support either of the filtering media 28 or 40.

[00068] Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of a system 60 that may include the filters described herein. For example, the blood processing system 60, may be an autotransfusion system used to collect shed blood from a surgical site of a patient. The shed blood may be processed and re-infused to the patient.

[00069] During surgery, shed blood may be collected at the surgical site of a patient via collection line 62 into a blood collection container 64 of a type generally described in WO2020/25481 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The collection line 62 is in fluid communication with the blood collection container 64 and may be connected to an inlet arranged on the blood collection container 64. Blood may be drawn into the blood collection container 64 by creating a negative pressure within the blood collection container 64. A negative pressure may be provided by means of a vacuum source attached to a vacuum line 70. Vacuum line 70 is in fluid communication with the blood collection container 64 and a vacuum source 72, such as but not limited to, a vacuum pump. Vacuum line 70 may be connected to a port of the blood collection container 64. Vacuum line 70 may contain an overflow container 90 to collect any overflow liquid passing through the vacuum line 70.

[00070] Vacuum source 72 creates the negative pressure in the blood collection container 64 by drawing air out of the container 64. As the vacuum source 72 draws air out of the blood collection container 64, liquid and debris may be drawn into vacuum line 70. Additionally, in instances where the surgical operation produces surgical smoke, smoke may be drawn into the vacuum line 70.

[00071] Vacuum line 70 may contain at least one filter 92 in fluid communication with the vacuum source 72 and the blood collection container 64. In one embodiment, the at least one filter 92 may include a smoke filter and a hydrophobic antibacterial/antiviral filter (as shown in Fig. 1) to keep any smoke, liquid, and/or debris from entering the vacuum source 72. The smoke filter and antibacterial/antiviral filter may be the respective filters described herein. The smoke filter is located upstream the antibacterial/antiviral filter, in between the blood collection container 64 and the antibacterial/antiviral filter to keep the antibacterial/antiviral filter from clogging. In another embodiment, the at least one filter 92 of the system 60 may include a single combined filter. The single combined filter may be the combined filter described herein.

[00072] In one embodiment, an anticoagulant may be introduced to and combined with the collected blood. In one example, the anticoagulant may be ACD-A. Other anticoagulants known in the art may be used without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The anticoagulant may be stored in an anticoagulant container 74. The anticoagulant may be introduced to the collected blood via anticoagulant line 76. In one example, anticoagulant line 76 may be in fluid communication with the collection line 62. In another example, anticoagulant line 76 may be in fluid communication with the blood collection container 64.

[00073] The blood collected in the blood collection container 64 may be continuously drawn into a processing chamber 66 via processing line 67 in which blood may be separated and/or washed for re-infusion into the patient via a return line 68. A diluting/washing fluid such as saline may be added from a diluting/washing fluid container 78 to the processing chamber 66 via diluting/washing fluid line 80. Multiple diluting/washing fluid containers 78 may be connected to diluting/washing fluid line 80 to introduce the diluting/washing fluid to the processing chamber 66.

[00074] After the blood has been processed/washed, unwanted blood components and/or waste may be collected in a waste container 82 via waste line 84. The processed blood product may pass through blood product line 86 and be collected in blood product collection container 88. The collected blood product may then be reinfused into the patient via return line 68. The transfusion may take place continuously such that blood may be continuously collected from the patient and continuously processed for reinfusing the processed blood components into the patient. [00075] Multiple pumps may be associated with the lines to pump fluids throughout the system 60. For example, a blood processing pump 94 may be associated with the blood processing line 67 to pump the collected blood from blood collection container 64 to the processing chamber 66. A diluting/washing fluid pump 96 may be associated with diluting/washing fluid line 80 to introduce the diluting/washing fluid to the processing chamber 66. Additionally, a blood product pump 98 may be associated with the blood product line 86 to pump processed blood product to the blood product collection container 88. Other pumps may be associated with other lines to pass fluid through the system without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[00076] It will be understood that the embodiments and examples described above are illustrative of some of the applications of the principles of the present subject matter. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter, including those combinations of features that are individually disclosed or claimed herein. For these reasons, the scope hereof is not limited to the above description but is as set forth in the following claims, and it is understood that the claims may be directed to the features hereof, including as combinations of features that are individually disclosed or claimed herein.