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Hello Tumari,
1. The volume of the bags was 60mL per bag.  

2. The average waterbath time was 4 minutes, the Plasmatherm was 5 minutes, and the ViaThaw was 7 minutes.

3. Do dry thawers offer a controlled rate thaw?

Plasmatherm – No, different programs do offer different temperatures/time limits but the rate of thawing is not controlled and will depend on multiple factors.
Viathaw – Yes, It uses IR sensors to that monitor the condition of the sample to determine when thawing is complete. It can thaw bags up to 275mL. 

3. Are they convenient to bedside thaw?

Plasmatherm – Yes,  it was fairly simple to use and can thaw multiple bags at once if needed.

Viathaw – Yes, very easy to use.

 4. Do they alert the user when the thawing is complete to eliminate subjectivity?

Plasmatherm – No, Only alerts if the temperature is too high, when the timer is complete, or water level is low and does so with an audible beep. The manual has guidelines for thaw durations but it would still require monitoring by user. 

Viathaw – Yes, but there is no audible alert, when the machine senses the bag is complete the light turns green and asks if it is complete. If you select Yes, it takes a photo. If no, it thaws for an additional 60 seconds.

 5. Do they have a way to electronically store the thaw information (temperature, thaw time, device serial number)?”  

 Plasmatherm – Yes, can be configured on a network to view data (serial number, sample ID, user ID, temperature, alerts, and thaw time) in real time or pull up historic records saved to a designated location. It can also be connected directly to a scanner and printer to scan bags in and print reports immediately. 

Viathaw – Yes, it does store records locally on the machine as well as takes a photo of bag at the time of completion. This can be configured onto a network and access records via website.

I hope this helps,
Thanks,

Cheryl

Nice presentation. Thank you for all the work into this.
Just curiosity questions:
1. What was the final volume of the bags that were cryopreserved and thawed for this study?
2. How long does it take to thaw product in waterbath/Plasmatherm/Via Thaw? 
3. Beside no risk of water-borne pathogens, can you comment on some of the benefits for the dry thawing devices for the questions presented in your background? For example, do dry thawers offer a controlled rate thaw? are they convenient to bedside thaw? Do they alert the user when the thawing is complete to eliminate subjectivity? Do they have a way to electronically store the thaw information (temperature, thaw time, device serial number)?