U.S. patent application number 09/261299 was filed with the patent office on 2001-09-06 for disposable needle and anesthetic carrier assembly.
Invention is credited to SPINELLO, RONALD P..
Application Number | 20010020152 09/261299 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22992691 |
Filed Date | 2001-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010020152 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SPINELLO, RONALD P. |
September 6, 2001 |
DISPOSABLE NEEDLE AND ANESTHETIC CARRIER ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A disposable needle assembly having a holster for receiving and
piercing a vial of anesthetic in which means are provided to
facilitate the removal of the spent vial from the holster.
Inventors: |
SPINELLO, RONALD P.; (RED
LION, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DANIEL P BURKE
GALGANO & BURKE
U S FEDERAL COURTHOUSE BUILDING
300 RABRO DRIVE SUITE 135
HAUPPAUGE
NY
11788
|
Family ID: |
22992691 |
Appl. No.: |
09/261299 |
Filed: |
March 2, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/118 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M 2205/50 20130101;
A61M 2202/0241 20130101; A61M 5/14546 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
604/118 |
International
Class: |
A61M 001/00; A61M
031/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier assembly for
delivering liquid anesthetic under pressure into living tissues,
the anesthetic being contained in disposable vials having an
anesthetic reservoir between a piston at one end and a piercable
self-sealing membrane at the other end through which the reservoir
is tapped, the anesthetic being delivered by a pumping station
having a movable plunger to engage the piston, the invention
comprising: a holster at one end to receive the vial with its
piston adjacent the open end; wall means to confine the vial
laterally in the holster; a tubular hollow membrane piercing probe
at the opposite end of the holster from the open end and formed
integrally with the holster to engage and pierce the membrane of
the vial; and a flexible microbore tube having one end coupled in
pressure sealing relationship to the hollow tubular probe and the
other end coupled in pressure sealing relationship to the needle at
its handle; said wall means of the holster having a geometry to
expose a portion of the vial to afford a frictional finger grip on
the vial, whereby the vial can be pulled free of the piercing probe
when the holster is detached from the pumping station.
2. A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier assembly as
set forth in claim 1, said hollow piercing-probe being circular in
cross section with a circular hollow center and sharpened in at
least three planes, each having a relatively steep angle to the
axis of the probe, the first plane extending from one edge of the
circle to a diametrically opposed point on the opposite edge,
thereby to define an elliptically rounded tip on the probe, the
other two planes intersecting each other and the peak of the
rounded tip to define a point.
3. A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier assembly as
set forth in claim 1, said holster being substantially cylindrical
to closely confine the vial, the geometry of the holster including
aperture means to expose the vial.
4. A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier accordingly is
set forth on claim 3 including a pair of diametrically opposed
apertures formed in the holster to expose the vial.
5. A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier assembly as
set forth in claim 1 including control means in the pumping station
to actuate the plunger and an apertured wall adjacent the plunger
to receive the holster, locking tab means on the holster adjacent
its open end to engage the apertured wall in locking relationship,
and control means in the pumping station to be engaged by the tab
means to actuate the plunger.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention is a flexible conduit and carrier assembly for
conveying liquid such as local anesthetic under elevated pressure
from a vial to a hollow needle adapted to be implanted in the
tissue, particularly the gingival tissue of the mouth.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,747,824 and 5,180,371
disclose apparatus and method by means of which local anesthetic
can be administered virtually without pain into the tissues,
particular the mouth. In accordance with this invention, a vial of
anesthetic is mounted in a holster unit detachably mounted at a
programmed and controllable pumping station which forces the
anesthetic from the vial at predetermined flow rates with greater
precision than can be achieved with conventional hand syringes. The
holster includes means to pierce the rubber diaphragm of the vial
and to convey the liquid through a flexible microbore tube to a
handle assembly carrying a conventional hollow needle to inject the
anesthetic into the tissue.
[0003] Such holster, flexible conduit and needle assemblies must be
disposable for sanitary reasons and must, therefore be relatively
inexpensive. On the other hand, they must be engineered so they can
quickly and easily be mated with anesthetic vials and then attached
to the pumping station and just as easily be disassembled and not
infrequently re-loaded for use on the same patient. They must also
be light in weight, able to withstand high liquid pressures and
readily manipulated at difficult injection sites.
[0004] The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an
assembly which meets all of these difficult and somewhat
incompatible design criteria.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In accordance with the invention, a holster design is
provided which, as a single die cast unit, is capable of receiving
a sealed vial of anesthetic and of automatically puncturing the
membrane seal at the head end of the vial by means of an integral,
sharppointed, hollow probe at the base of the holster to tap into
the reservoir of liquid anesthetic. The holster includes tab means
at its forward end to detachably lock it to the pumping station and
to actuate a ram to drive the plug or piston in the rearward end of
the vial into the vial's reservoir to force the liquid through the
flexible microbore conduit to the needle under a wide range of
pressures. The flexible conduit is coupled to both the holster and
the needle handle in a high pressure seal.
[0006] Because it is frequently required that a second vial of
anesthetic be used for the same patient, it should be possible to
quickly detach the disposable assembly from the pump, eject the
spent vial and insert a fresh vial. In accordance with the
invention, swift removal of the spent vial is facilitated by
arranging the geometry of the holster so that the vial can be
gripped to detach it from the holster, when it is to be discarded.
This can be achieved, for example, by means of a pair of
complementary diametrically opposed finger apertures in the side
wall of the holster to enable the vial to be tightly gripped and
pulled out of the holster against the friction of the probe gripped
by the rubber membrane of the vial.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a holster, flexible conduit and
needle assembly embodying the present invention, and also showing,
disassembled, an anesthetic vial and a portion of a pumping
station;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a view in longitudinal vertical section of the
needle end of the handle portion;
[0009] FIG. 3A is a view in vertical longitudinal section of the
holster portion of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3B is a view in horizontal longitudinal section of the
holster portion of FIG. 1; and
[0011] FIGS. 4A and 4B are two views in cross section showing the
front end of the holster inserted in the pumping station, the
latter showing the holster rotated 90.degree. to engage the locking
tabs and to start the microprocessor.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] Referring to FIG. 1, the invention is shown as embodied in a
disposable assembly 10 having an open-ended tubular holster 11 for
receiving a vial or cartridge 11a, of anesthetic and for attachment
to a programmed pumping station 12. The assembly 10 includes a
flexible, microbore tube or conduit 13 coupled to a handle assembly
14 having a rigid elongated carrier 15, the free end of which is
joined to a hollow needle 16 connected to the conduit 13 in
fluid-tight relationship, as best seen in FIG. 2.
[0013] The flexible conduit 13 is threaded through a central bore
17 in the carrier 15 to receive the base end of the hollow needle
16. The needle is carried by a cap 18 having a needle sealing hub
19 and fitted over the free end of the carrier 15, also in sealing
relationship. The pencil-like geometry of the handle assembly
enables it to be held between the forefinger and the thumb of the
doctor to enable the careful implantation of the needle in the most
difficult injection sites.
[0014] The holster 11 as best seen in FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B is
preferably cast in plastic as a unitary structure having a hollow
cylindrical body to receive at its free or open end the charged
anesthetic vial 11a, head or front end 11b first. The head end of a
conventional anesthetic vial includes a penetrable rubber seal 11c
held by a metal sealing ring while the back end is sealed by a plug
or piston 11d which is slidable into the anesthetic reservoir 11e
of the vial to drive the liquid forward.
[0015] The open or forward end of the holster 11 includes a pair of
radially extending locking tabs 20 and 21 (best seen in FIG. 3B and
4B) while the base or closed end is formed with a central, external
hub 22 adapted to receive the flexible conduit 13 in sealing
relationship. The base end is also formed internally with a hollow,
molded, piercing probe 22A having a tip sharpened in at least three
planes to define a piercing tip capable of penetration of the
rubber seal 11 c of the vial when it is inserted into the holster.
Thus the flexible, microbore conduit 13 is connected to the
anesthetic reservoir 11e.
[0016] With the vial 11a fully seated in the holster 11 with the
probe 22a penetrating the rubber seal 11c, the assembly 10 is ready
to be releasably locked to the pre-programmed pumping station 12.
To this end, the wall of the pumping station is formed with a
circular aperture 12a with diametrically opposed radial extensions
12b and 12c (best seen in FIG. 4B) to receive the radial tabs 20
and 21 of the holster. The holster is then rotated 90.degree.
counter-clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 4A and 4B to dispose the
locking tabs behind the wall 12. At the same time the locking tab
20 rotates into engagement with a programming switch 22 connected
to a microprocessor 23 in the pumping station 12 to actuate a
plunger 24 to drive the plunger into the piston 11d in the vial
11a. The plunger is then controlled by the doctor and the
micro-processor to complete the injection in accordance with the
teaching of the applicant's aforesaid patents.
[0017] When the injection is completed (or the vial exhausted), the
holster is then detached from the pumping station by reversing the
insertion procedure. Removal of the vial from the holster requires
that the rubber seal 11c, which is in tight frictional engagement
with the piercing probe 22a, be readily detached from the probe.
This is accomplished in accordance with the invention by forming in
the holster diametrically opposed finger apertures 25a and 25b so
that the vial within the holster can be tightly gripped with a
force enabling the doctor or a technician to pull the vial away
from the piercing probe in minimum time. A fresh cartridge or vial
of anesthetic can then be inserted in the holster to provide for
additional anesthetic to be injected into the same patient without
any delay which would adversely affect the process. Alternatively,
the geometry of the holster can be such that the length of the vial
exceeds the length of the holster so that the end of the vial can
be gripped when the holster is detached from the pumping station
12.
[0018] While the invention has been described above in reference to
a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it can
take other forms and arrangements. The invention should not,
therefore, be regarded as limited except as set forward with the
following claims.
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