Blood Warming Device for Austere Location Blood Transfusion

Abstract The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) identified a need for a more effective fluid warmer in austere operational environments, including the back of vehicles, helicopters, or airplanes. Current technologies for portable fluid warmers often do not provide an adequate flow rate or do not heat the fluid to adequate temperatures when used in field settings. Consequences of insufficient blood warming can cause hypovolemic or hypothermic shock in the patient. The product was designed to take low temperature blood (approximately 4°C) and heat it to 37°C at a desired flow rate of 200 mL/min or greater. Such a design could be used in other austere environments as well as in developing nations, remote locations around the globe, or even one day in space. This paper covers the project scope, background research, existing products, concept development, prototyping, and testing. Preliminary results indicate it is possible to heat blood to the desired temperature, however the device as built was not able to achieve such warming, thus improvements for the future are provided.