The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 24, 1997
R Douglas Armstrong, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
James Maluta, Dexter, MI (US);
David W Roecker, Denver, CO (US);
Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
An incubator apparatus is disclosed, for conditioning a portable cassette such that biological cells contained within a cell growth chamber of the cassette are maintained and grown ex vivo, without exposing the cells to the external environment. The incubator apparatus includes first and second receptacles sized and configured to removably receive first and second casings, respectively, of the portable cassette, and it further includes first and second temperature regulators that regulate the temperatures of the respective first and second receptacles to prescribed values. In addition, the incubator apparatus includes a mechanical interface that is engaged by the portable cassette's first and second casings when they are received in their corresponding receptacles, and this mechanical interface controls the transport of growth media and a gas through the cassette's cell growth chamber, without exposing the cell growth chamber to the external environment. The incubator apparatus also is configured to retrieve data from, and to store data to, an updatable memory device carried on the cassette.