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Respirocytes, like natural hemoglobin, may also participate in the elimination of
CO and in NO-mediated vascular control [37] if appropriate sorting rotors and
onboard tankage are provided.
One important protocol described in the original paper [4] is the initial
warmup procedure for empty respirocytes that must be infused into a patient.
Respirocytes comprising a single augmentation dosage are stored as a dry powder,
tanks empty, in sealed plastic drip bags with two hose couplings. With no batteries
to run down, consumables to age, vapors to outgas or organic matter to
decompose, the product should have a long shelf life. To use the product, the
bag is filled with ice-cold 0.13M glucose (23 gm/liter) solution, plus any salts,
minerals, vitamins, proteins or other substances the physician deems appropriate.
The powder floats on the liquid surface. An external source of O 2 gas (and CO 2 ,if
required) is provided through the second coupling. Respirocyte sensors detect the
presence of glucose and begin pumping fuel into the glucose tanks. As these tanks
fill, each device loads its oxygen tank to rated capacity. The powder still floats on
the surface. Finally, the respirocytes load ballast tanks and sink to the bottom of
the bag. (Powder remaining on the surface evidences malfunction.) During this
B
30 sec charging process, the respirocytes absorb 53.7 liters of O 2 @ STP, store
0.78 liters of CO 2 waste, release enough energy to warm bag contents to 42
C, and
leave behind a 0.005M glucose solution, closely matching normal blood concen-
tration and temperature. Upon receiving the correct activation command, broad-
cast acoustically using an ultrasound transmitter device pressed against the bag,
the respirocytes blow sufficient ballast water to achieve neutral buoyancy, creating
a perfect suspension (after agitation) ready for IV drip. The suspension is
B
1
300 times plasma viscosity (
castor oil or canola oil at 37
1
C), still permitting
B
ready plug flow [38].
Once a therapeutic purpose is completed, it may be desirable to extract
artificial devices from circulation, requiring activation of a respirocyte filtration
protocol. During this protocol, called nanapheresis [1n], blood to be cleared may
be passed from the patient to a specialized centrifugation apparatus where
ultrasound acoustic transmitters command respirocytes to establish neutral buoy-
ancy. No other solid blood component can maintain exact neutral buoyancy,
hence those other components precipitate outward during gentle centrifugation
and are drawn off and added back to filtered plasma on the other side of the
apparatus. Meanwhile, after a period of centrifugation, the plasma, containing
mostly suspended respirocytes but few other solids, is drawn off through a
1-micron filter, removing the respirocytes. Filtered plasma is recombined with
centrifuged solid components and returned undamaged to the patient's body. The
rate of separation is further enhanced either by commanding respirocytes to empty
all tanks, lowering net density to 66% of blood plasma density, or by commanding
respirocytes to blow a 5-micron O 2 gas bubble to which the device may adhere via
surface tension, allowing it to rise at 45mm/hour in a normal gravitational
environment.
Respirocytes can be programmed with even more sophisticated behaviors.
Detection of P CO2 o
0.5mmHg and P O2 W
150mmHg, indicating direct exposure to
 
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