Blood Component Transfusion
Blood transfusions have evolved rapidly over the last 80 years and today represent an industry valued at more than $17 billion worldwide. Blood’s primary components include red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, and plasma.
Platelets - small non-nucleated cells in blood - promote blood clotting upon blood vessel injury and are critical for trauma or major surgery patients with extensive blood loss, and cancer patients undergoing aggressive chemotherapy. Currently, there are approximately 9 million platelet collections worldwide with an estimated market value of $2.4 billion.
(photo, below) Electronmicrograph of platelets.
A significant challenge for the blood collection industry is the extremely short shelf-life for platelets. Unlike RBCs, platelets must be stored at room temperature, otherwise they become activated and deteriorate quickly. Such storage conditions increase platelet metabolism and encourage bacterial growth. Each day platelet quality deteriorates and individual bags vary greatly in their stability. Despite chronic shortages, as much as 10-20 % of all donated platelets must be discarded, creating an enormous waste of a valuable resource.
Platelets are concentrated and stored in sterile bags as solutions in plasma. The pH level of these platelet concentrates is an indication of their health. However, there are currently no regulatory approved non-invasive methods for measuring the pH of platelet products inside the bag. A reliable pH detection method could assist inventory management as well as help to ensure sick patients receive optimum platelet transfusions.
BCSI is first introducing our products in Northern Europe, followed by Southern Europe, Canada, the USA, and the rest of the world dependent upon obtaining the required product registrations. Products are not yet available in North America.
Other Markets
BCSI believes that its pH detection system may have applications outside of blood banking in areas such as in vivo pH monitoring, cell and tissue storage and culture, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing and as laboratory pH devices.
| 
