U.S. patent number 3,559,643 [Application Number 04/736,423] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-02 for catheter placement unit.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Levoy's, Inc.. Invention is credited to Karl A. Pannier, Jr., James L. Sorenson.
United States Patent |
3,559,643 |
Pannier, Jr. , et
al. |
February 2, 1971 |
CATHETER PLACEMENT UNIT
Abstract
A catheter placement unit for the sterile insertion of a
catheter into a body lumen through an incised opening in the lumen
wall for parenteral infusion and other purposes, the unit having no
cannulated needle, and embodying a longitudinally slit sheath with
a catheter therein and an advancer connected to one end of the
catheter and initially in axial alignment with said sheath to close
an end thereof, the other end of said sheath being initially
capped.
Inventors: |
Pannier, Jr.; Karl A. (Salt
Lake City, UT), Sorenson; James L. (Salt Lake City, UT) |
Assignee: |
Levoy's, Inc. (Salt Lake City,
UT)
|
Family
ID: |
24959796 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/736,423 |
Filed: |
June 12, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/171;
D24/112 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
25/00 (20130101); A61M 25/0111 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61M
25/00 (20060101); A61M 25/01 (20060101); A61m
005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/214,214.4,348,I.C.(Digest) ;206/63.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Truluck; Dalton L.
Claims
We claim:
1. A catheter placement unit for sterilely advancing a catheter
through an incised opening in a body lumen without the aid of a
needle cannula, including:
a sheath having a longitudinal slit therein extending throughout
its entire length;
a catheter in said sheath;
a straight tubular catheter advancer disposed in axial alignment
with said sheath and initially closing one end of said sheath, the
other end of said sheath presenting a blunt surface;
a reduced neck portion of said advancer extending into said one end
of said sheath to which an end of said catheter is firmly
connected;
a retaining head on said neck portion of larger diameter than said
reduced neck and axially aligned therewith within said sheath
preventing complete accidental lateral withdrawal of said portion
of the advancer through the slit in said sheath during advancement
of the catheter; and
said advancer being tipped relatively to said sheath out of axial
alignment therewith to advance the catheter, so that said reduced
neck portion rides along the slit while said head remains within
the sheath.
2. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 including, a temporary
cap initially closing the other end of said sheath and removable
when the unit is put to use.
3. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 including:
a tube secured at one end in the outer portion of said advancer for
connection to an infusion system; and
a temporary cap closing said tube until the unit is put to use.
4. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 wherein said advancer is
of substantially the same outside diameter as said sheath.
5. The catheter placement unit of claim 1 wherein there is a slight
visible spreading of said sheath at the slit therein caused by said
advancer portion extending therein and which acts as an indicator
for quickly placing the unit in the proper position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
Pertains to the art of surgery, medicators, and particularly to a
dosing device in the form of a catheter placement unit for
positioning a catheter in a vein or other body lumen through an
incised opening in the lumen wall, without the aid of any form of a
puncturing needle telescopically associated with the catheter. The
unit embodies easily operable means for placing the catheter in the
lumen while maintaining the catheter in a completely sterile
condition during placing, and the catheter may be placed in the
lumen while infusion takes place. The unit is so constructed that
it provides an exceedingly easy and rapid insertion of the catheter
even under most extreme conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, catheters have been enclosed in a sheath having a slit
extending lengthwise thereof so that the sheath could be disrupted
as the catheter was advanced into a body lumen and then the sheath
removed. A sheath of this character is shown in the Ring et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,448 issued Jul. 26, 1966. However, in all such
instances heretofore a needle has been telescopically associated
with the catheter and the puncture in the wall of the body lumen
was made by the needle and then the catheter advanced relatively to
the needle. However, there are a noticable percentage of
emergencies where intravenous feeding or medication is indicated
and a catheter placement unit equipped with a needle cannot be
utilized. In such emergency the patient is in a state of deep shock
and the attending surgeon is unable to find the vein, which is
practically collapsed. It is therefore necessary to reach the vein
by surgery and incise the wall of the vein to provide an opening
for the entrance of the catheter, and after placement in the vein
the catheter is usually sewn right to the vein the catheter is
usually sewn right to the vein when the incision is closed for
later removal after the patient has improved. Heretofore, in such
cases extreme difficulty was undergone in maintaining sterility and
inserting a catheter through an incised opening. The surgeon's
hands or gloves are bloody and otherwise contaminated so it was
necessary for someone else to place the catheter, and even so the
maintenance of sterility was quite difficult. Further, catheter
placement units as heretofore utilized had a rather bulky
connection between the catheter and a tube leading to the source of
infusion liquid, and such bulk might add to a patient's trauma if
the patient realizes that immediately upon recovering from the
state of shock.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention or discovery embodies a catheter in a sheath
in the form of a conduit having a slit lengthwise thereof which
maintains the catheter in a sterile condition. A cap is placed over
the end of the sheath from which the catheter is advanced, and the
catheter is connected to a small fitting which plugs the other end
of the sheath, this fitting being connected to a flexible tube
having a fitting on the end thereof for connection to the line from
an infusion system. The fitting on the end of the catheter is so
constructed that it cannot accidentally come out of the sheath
along with a portion of the catheter during advancement of the
catheter and is also so small as not to alarm a patient coming out
of shock. The catheter is fully protected at all times during
advancement, and the attending surgeon cannot touch the catheter
during advancement and can easily hold the sheath and advance the
catheter regardless of the contaminated condition of his hands or
gloves. No assistant is required to place the catheter through an
incised opening in a body lumen and the sterility of the catheter
is completely maintained. The catheter could be placed in an
incised incision even on a battlefield without any sacrifice of
sterility. Thus it will be seen that the instant invention has
effectively solved the problems existent in the prior art as
pointed out above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a catheter placement unit embodying
principles of this invention, showing the same prior to use;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged part sectional part elevational view taken
substantially as indicated by the line II-II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the position of the parts during
advancement of the catheter; and
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially as
indicated by the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
It will be understood that for purposes of clear presentation all
FIGS. of the drawing are enlarged above the size the actual product
is in most instances.
The illustrated embodiment of the invention includes the catheter
sheath 1 which is in the form of a conduit and has a slit 2
extending lengthwise thereof. This conduit or sheath 1 is
preferably made of a nonwettable plastic material, preferably
extruded, polyethylene being one satisfactory material, in such a
manner that it has an inherent resiliency which acts to maintain
the slit 2 closed at all times, there being no physical seal
necessary to maintain the sidewalls of the slit in contact. Such
arrangement provides what may be termed a surface-tensioned seal,
because the plastic not being wettable, surface tension of any
liquid, outside or within the sheath, prevents that liquid from
flowing through the relatively firmly closed slit. The closure of
the slit is amply sufficient to preserve the sterility of the
contents of the sheath which in this instance, will only be a
catheter 3 and a portion of the fitting connected to it.
The catheter 3 is also preferably formed of a suitable plastic
material and is more flexible than is the sheath. The end of the
sheath out of which the catheter is advanced is initially closed by
a suitable cap 4 to preserve sterility until time for use. The
other end of the sheath is substantially closed by a tubular
fitting 5 in one end of which the catheter is firmly secured, and
in the other end of which an end of a tube 6 is firmly secured
which tube terminates in a fitting 7 for connection to an infusion
system, initially closed by cap 8.
The body portion of the fitting 5 is preferably cylindrical and of
a relatively small diameter, but which is sufficient to be grasped
by the thumb and finger of the attending surgeon and used to
advance the catheter. The diameter of the body of the fitting or
advancer 5 can be substantially the same as the outside diameter of
the sheath 1. With reference more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 it
will be seen at the inner end of the fitting or advancer 5 there is
a section of reduced diameter providing a nipple 9 from which a
still narrower neck 10 extends terminating in a ball-shaped head 11
which maintains the catheter within the sheath during advancement
of the catheter. This head 11 cannot be withdrawn from the sheath
directly through the slit 2 except by force much too great to be
accidental.
When the unit is assembled, the nipple 9 of the catheter actuator 5
is inserted within the sheath. This insertion spreads the outer end
of the sheath 1 slightly into a V-shaped opening 12, which is not
sufficiently large to interfere with the retainment of sterility of
the contents of the sheath. However, the opening 12 is visible to
the attending surgeon and enables him to quickly locate the slit in
the sheath and immediately hold the unit in the most advantageous
position for advancement of the catheter into the body lumen,
usually with the slit held uppermost.
In operation, the instant invention is simple and effective. After
incising the vein or body lumen in its practically collapsed
condition, the catheter placement unit may be utilized by the same
attending surgeon regardless of the soiled and contaminated
condition of his hands or gloves. The end cap 4 may be first be
removed, then the end cap 8 on the fitting 7 may be removed and the
fitting 7 connected to an infusion system. The infusion system may
be turned on to flush out the catheter to eliminate air and any
sterilization sediment, the infusion system temporarily shut off
and the end of the catheter entered into the incised opening in the
body lumen. After the entrance of the catheter the infusion system
is preferably turned on again so that the flow of the infusion
liquid will tend to open the collapsed body lumen ahead of the
catheter and permit a smooth and adequate advancement of the
catheter into the lumen.
To advance the catheter into the body lumen it is a simple
expedient for the attending surgeon to grasp the sheath 1, the
V-shaped opening 12 enabling him to immediately properly position
the sheath in his hands, elevate the advancer or fitting 5 to the
position seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 and merely push it along the sheath
with the catheter steadily advancing into the lumen when the end of
the sheath is reached it separates from the catheter advancer and
is discarded leaving the catheter in the incised lumen and the only
thing left exposed on the body of the patient is a relatively small
fitting 5 which may be secured by adhesive tape to the patient's
body. This requires a very short amount of time and the incision
can be immediately closed with the catheter in the body lumen,
permitting the entire wound to heal and the catheter may be pulled
out after the patient recovers sufficiently. All danger of
infection of a patient by virtue of the positioning of the catheter
is eliminated.
It will be understood that modifications and variations may be
effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of
the present invention.
* * * * *