Abstract: Recovery of blood from a wound site (12) during a surgical procedure is accomplished with low blood trauma that enables collection of increased amounts of blood having relatively little structural damage for return to the surgical patient. Blood trauma is decreased by accelerating liquid blood from the wound site to flow at a relatively low velocity with a relatively high negative gauge pressure and accelerating a mixture of blood and foam from the wound site to flow at a relatively high velocity and a relatively low negative gauge pressure. A suction wand is provided in which liquid blood (32) is separated from a mixture of blood and foam (16) at the wound site through the transport of the two separated fluids at the different velocities and negative gauge pressures. The wand includes an outer blood foam tube within which are three resiliently compressed, side-by-side tubes for handling liquid blood, rinse solution and anticoagulant.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for stabilizing the operation of a dewatering press operating on a known liquid-solid mixture by measuring a physical property such as the pressure of the material being dewatered at an intermediate position in the press, comparing the measured value with a predetermined optimum value set at will by the machine operator, and generating from the comparison a process alteration capable of stabilizing the operation of the press.