Advancing Healthcare: Automated Air Bubble Removal Device for Parenteral Nutrition Products during Pre-storage Processes

Parenteral Nutrition (PN) involves the intravenous (IV) delivery of essential nutrients to preterm neonates and patients who cannot receive them orally or enterally due to intestinal issues. The stability of PN products is of paramount importance during administration, as any instability can lead to severe complications for patients. Consequently, the research problem centers on the necessity to automatically eliminate air bubbles from PN products. The presence of air bubbles in PN bags can introduce an excess of oxygen, which has the potential to significantly affect the stability of the PN product. The proposed solution entails the development of a degassing/debubbling device designed to remove air bubbles from PN products. Several degassing methods were considered, including vacuum degassing, ultrasonic degassing, and membrane degassing. However, the chosen approach for the prototype is membrane degassing due to its chemical inertness and its ability to preserve the volume and quality of the Parenteral Nutrition Solution (PNS). The prototype is composed of standard peristaltic pumps, which are controlled by an Arduino Uno and housed externally. It features standard luer-lock connectors for easy attachment to standard PN bags. The primary objective of this prototype is to eliminate microbubbles via an external tubing system equipped with bubble traps that utilize hydrophobic membranes to release air while retaining the liquid.