Processes and peer data are available to address patient satisfaction in the inpatient setting, but evaluating satisfaction in the outpatient setting has been historically over-looked. Our outpatient apheresis unit has established a mechanism to assess patient satisfaction and address the unobserved needs of our patients. We have developed patient satisfaction cards that are given to patients upon completion of their procedure. Patients have the opportunity to rate their care by answering the following questions:Was the procedure thoroughly explained by the apheresis staff?Were your needs met during the procedure?Were you treated in a courteous and professional manner?Can you please rate the overall apheresis experience? Ratings are on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being 'very poor' to 5 being 'very good'. Patients are also given the opportunity to provide comments regarding their procedure and the entire apheresis process. The self-addressed scorecards are sent directly to our program's quality management coordinator for review and evaluation. Survey participants are anonymous with names being optional. The goal of our hospital is to have a 'good' or 'very good' response on 90% of all patient satisfaction surveys. Our goal is to exceed the needs of each patient and stay in-line with the hospital's desired goal. Tabulated results are reviewed with the apheresis staff and are presented quarterly at our transplant program's quality management meetings. Results and comments are posted within the apheresis unit for continuous visualization of patient satisfaction. Comments for improvement are entered into our unit's complaint log and are reviewed during our department meetings. Improved patient satisfaction is a high priority at our institution. Patient satisfaction assessment is an excellent mechanism for quality improvement activities. Evaluation of care, planning for improvement and documentation of actions taken are a required quality improvement activities for FACT accreditation for our blood and marrow collection facility. Comment cards give our patients an opportunity to express their appreciation for the care provided by our staff. This provides an excellent affirmation of a job well done.

The nanomechanical behaviour of micromembranes for high temperature applications of a microelectro mechanical system pressure sensor has been studied by use of atomic force microscopy. A method was elaborated and used for measure nanometre deformation of the membrane under application of high loads. This method was also useful for identifying failures of a membrane. e.g., undesired position against the substrate of the structure. The tests were performed for a series of membranes. The characteristics of the mechanical behaviour were plotted for different geometrical features of the membranes to identify the influence of geometry and dimension. The method was found to be very effective for the process characterisation of the fabricated MEMS micromembranes devoted, e. g., to high temperature pressure sensors.

The thawing of cryopreserved products has traditionally been done using a water-bath. The potential contamination risks involved with thawing cryopreserved stem cell products are always a concern. A safer, more standardized method of thawing cryopreserved products while reducing the contamination risk associated with water-baths was investigated. A comparison study was performed using the Equitherm Model 299-733 water-bath and the Cytotherm® Model D1 Dry Plasma Thawing unit. Two equivalent cryopreserved bags from each of nine peripheral stem cell collections were thawed using both water-bath and dry thawing methods. Bag volumes, storage, cell concentrations, initial product temperature and initial equipment temperature were identical. Measured parameters included post-thaw cell viability, product temperature, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and temperature recovery time of the equipment. All products were placed into an over-wrap bag. Viabilities found using each method were unremarkable with a variation range of less than 5% and an average variation of less than 1%. The differences noted were: 1) the products thawed in the water-bath had a temperature range of –2.0°C to 24.4°C post-thaw versus a temperature range of 6.0°C to 13.6°C following dry thawing method, 2) LDH levels of products thawed in the water-bath had LDH levels averaging 37.5% higher with a range of 5.8% to 87.8% higher than dry thawing method, 3) temperature recovery of the water-bath to desired temperature averaged 8.9 minutes compared to 4 minutes using the dry thawing unit. After performing this comparison, it was observed that the dry thawing method may have benefits over the traditional water-bath method. The benefits of the dry thawing method include: 1) the reduced risk of product contamination, 2) lower LDH levels on the thawed products which may indicate less cell destruction or lysis, 3) a consistent post-thaw temperature of the product ensuring that the product is not over-warmed or under-thawed, 4) faster temperature recovery of the equipment following each thaw allowing for a consistent starting temperature when performing multiple thaws, 5) elimination of the need to hand manipulate the product during the thawing process, 6) lastly, the dry thawing unit was very portable with no water to maintain. The thawing of cryopreserved products has traditionally been done using a water-bath. The potential contamination risks involved with thawing cryopreserved stem cell products are always a concern. A safer, more standardized method of thawing cryopreserved products while reducing the contamination risk associated with water-baths was investigated. A comparison study was performed using the Equitherm Model 299-733 water-bath and the Cytotherm® Model D1 Dry Plasma Thawing unit. Two equivalent cryopreserved bags from each of nine peripheral stem cell collections were thawed using both water-bath and dry thawing methods. Bag volumes, storage, cell concentrations, initial product temperature and initial equipment temperature were identical. Measured parameters included post-thaw cell viability, product temperature, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and temperature recovery time of the equipment. All products were placed into an over-wrap bag. Viabilities found using each method were unremarkable with a variation range of less than 5% and an average variation of less than 1%. The differences noted were: 1) the products thawed in the water-bath had a temperature range of –2.0°C to 24.4°C post-thaw versus a temperature range of 6.0°C to 13.6°C following dry thawing method, 2) LDH levels of products thawed in the water-bath had LDH levels averaging 37.5% higher with a range of 5.8% to 87.8% higher than dry thawing method, 3) temperature recovery of the water-bath to desired temperature averaged 8.9 minutes compared to 4 minutes using the dry thawing unit. After performing this comparison, it was observed that the dry thawing method may have benefits over the traditional water-bath method. The benefits of the dry thawing method include: 1) the reduced risk of product contamination, 2) lower LDH levels on the thawed products which may indicate less cell destruction or lysis, 3) a consistent post-thaw temperature of the product ensuring that the product is not over-warmed or under-thawed, 4) faster temperature recovery of the equipment following each thaw allowing for a consistent starting temperature when performing multiple thaws, 5) elimination of the need to hand manipulate the product during the thawing process, 6) lastly, the dry thawing unit was very portable with no water to maintain.

Many factors influence marrow recovery after autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. The status of the patient's bone marrow function at harvesting may certainly be an important factor. This study was conducted to evaluate whether the platelet count at the initial stem cell harvest predicts time to platelet and neutrophil engraftment after transplantation. The data of 96 consecutive patients who underwent autologous PBSC transplantation between 2001 and 2004 were reviewed. Data collected included diagnosis, date of diagnosis, date of first harvest, number of harvests to obtain prerequisite number of CD34+ cells, platelet and neutrophil counts at initial harvest, and time to platelet and neutrophil engraftment. An adequate target CD34+ cell number was >2.5 × 106/kg patient weight. The majority of patients had multiple myeloma (45%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (25%), Hodgkin's Disease (17%), and others (13%). Two collection groups were identified, 1 group requiring only 1 collection period and a second group requiring more than one. Seventy-one patients required 1 collection period of up to 5 consecutive days of stem cell harvest. The average harvest time to obtain the required numbers of stem cells was 3.16 days. The average platelet count at initial harvest was 187,000/uL. Average time to platelet engraftment was 19.2 days and to neutrophil engraftment was 11.6 days. Sixteen patients required >1 peripheral stem cell collection periods. For these patients, the time to platelet engraftment was 22.7 days and to neutrophil engraftment was 12.2 days. Nine patients did not have platelet engraftment because they either died before platelet engraftment or their platelets did not engraft secondary to relapse of disease. The average initial count of this group was 187,000/uL, similar to the other patient group. There was no correlation between platelet count at first harvest and time to platelet engraftment (r = −0.12141). Platelet engraftment time did not correlate with neutrophil engraftment (r = 0.1). In conclusion, patients who required >1 peripheral stem cell collection period, have delayed engraftment of platelets and to lesser extent delayed neutrophil engraftment, when compared to patients requiring only one collection period. Many factors influence marrow recovery after autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. The status of the patient's bone marrow function at harvesting may certainly be an important factor. This study was conducted to evaluate whether the platelet count at the initial stem cell harvest predicts time to platelet and neutrophil engraftment after transplantation. The data of 96 consecutive patients who underwent autologous PBSC transplantation between 2001 and 2004 were reviewed. Data collected included diagnosis, date of diagnosis, date of first harvest, number of harvests to obtain prerequisite number of CD34+ cells, platelet and neutrophil counts at initial harvest, and time to platelet and neutrophil engraftment. An adequate target CD34+ cell number was >2.5 × 106/kg patient weight. The majority of patients had multiple myeloma (45%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (25%), Hodgkin's Disease (17%), and others (13%). Two collection groups were identified, 1 group requiring only 1 collection period and a second group requiring more than one. Seventy-one patients required 1 collection period of up to 5 consecutive days of stem cell harvest. The average harvest time to obtain the required numbers of stem cells was 3.16 days. The average platelet count at initial harvest was 187,000/uL. Average time to platelet engraftment was 19.2 days and to neutrophil engraftment was 11.6 days. Sixteen patients required >1 peripheral stem cell collection periods. For these patients, the time to platelet engraftment was 22.7 days and to neutrophil engraftment was 12.2 days. Nine patients did not have platelet engraftment because they either died before platelet engraftment or their platelets did not engraft secondary to relapse of disease. The average initial count of this group was 187,000/uL, similar to the other patient group. There was no correlation between platelet count at first harvest and time to platelet engraftment (r = −0.12141). Platelet engraftment time did not correlate with neutrophil engraftment (r = 0.1). In conclusion, patients who required >1 peripheral stem cell collection period, have delayed engraftment of platelets and to lesser extent delayed neutrophil engraftment, when compared to patients requiring only one collection period.