Plastic Needle Holder

Abstract

An intravenous catheter and cannula assembly as a sterile package with a flexible catheter partially telescoped within the cannula which is of the break-away needle type having wings to be manipulated in parting the cannula from the vein-inserted catheter; and a plastic handle interfitted with the wings for manipulation thereof and serving to secure a plastic bag or sheath thereto as a sterile covering for the remaining length of the catheter therein; and with a protective tube-like cover for the needle end of the cannula to maintain the sterile condition of the assembly as a whole prior to vein insertion use.

Description

This invention is concerned with an assembly for piercing body portions, such as tissues, muscles, and perhaps more particularly veins, of a patient to locate a flexible catheter tube in the selected body portion for surgical procedures such as withdrawing or introducing fluids thereto.

Prior practice of retaining guide needles on flexible catheter tubes after venipuncture has been generally replaced by providing guide needles which may be completely separated from the body inserted catheter tube, thus necessitating merely taping the inserted flexible catheter tube to the patient with resultant reduction in discomfort to the patient. In such procedures, it is now quite common to provide catheter and cannula assemblies enclosed within a clear plastic bag or sheath for sterility prior to use. In other instances, the sheath may enclose only the catheter and a separate tube-like sheath may be provided for the needle end of the cannula. In these and other instances where a bag-like sheath or covering is provided, and after body insertion of the needle end of the cannula, the catheter is fed through the cannula by grasping the bag to grip the enclosed catheter and collapsing the bag toward the cannula for feeding the catheter tube therethrough to implanted position. Then the cannula is removed from body insertion and either taped to the body of the patient or, according to more recent practice, the cannula is of the breakaway type so that it may be completely removed from the implanted catheter tube.

An object of the present invention is to provide a combined catheter and break-away cannula assembly in the form of a sterile package with the cannula having a multi-part break-away handle serving to attach thereto a plastic bag enclosing at least the included catheter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined catheter and cannula assembly of the above type wherein the needle end of the cannula is protected by a tube in association with the handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combined catheter and cannula assembly with a break-away needle in which the manipulating wings of the needle are exteriorly enclosed by the plastic bag and then interfitted within a generally complementally shaped plastic handle to attach and seal that end of the plastic bag.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the assembled catheter and plastic sheath with the needle end of the catheter exposed;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the various parts prior to final assembly, that is, with the closure tube for the needle end partially applied and with the plastic sheath enclosing the wings of the cannula prior to assembly and interfitting thereof with the mating plastic handle;

FIG. 3 is a slightly enlarged section taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the plastic handle and needle covering tube when molded as a unit; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of the initially molded handle member.

In the drawing, and with reference to FIG. 2, the parts are shown in partially assembled positions to illustrate each separately for better understanding when completely assembled as a sterile package. The cannula includes a split needle end portion 10 terminating in a diagonally sliced end 10a as a point for venipuncture. The rear end of the split needle terminates in integral wings 12, 12a extending upwardly from adjacent edges of the split needle with the upper edges 14, 14a thereof, respectively, turned slightly outwardly for interfitting with a plastic handle as will be hereinafter pointed out. Also, the outer surfaces of the wings may be provided with serrations 15 or other surface configurations for securing a plastic sheath or bag within the interfitted wings and handle member as will be described. A flexible catheter tube 16 is initially telescoped partially within the rear end of the cannula and the needle end of the cannula is enclosed by a tube or cylinder 18 having a closed end 18a and a rear hub portion 18b.

The plastic handle member, designated generally in FIG. 2 as 20, will be described with further reference to FIG. 4. This handle member is of plastic material and may be initially molded in the form shown in FIG. 5 in a two plate mold without side action core pins, and then refigured through the position of FIG. 4, to the assembled positions of FIGS. 1 and 2. The handle member includes a pair of handle sections 22, 22a which serve as covers for the wings 12, 12a in the completed assembly. These sections 22, 22a are joined to one another by trough portions 24, 24a, respectively, at opposite sides of a hinge section 25. The free ends 26, 26a of the sections 22, 22a, respectively, are turned slightly outwardly and provide similarly inclined slots 28, 28a complementally inclined to the wing portions, for receiving the same in the completed assembly. The section 22 is provided with an edge recess 30 to frictionally receive an edge lug 32 on the section 22a and the section 22 is also provided with an opposite edge lug 34 to be received frictionally in an edge recess 36 on the section 22a when the two sections are folded together with the hinge section 25 creased for such positioning in the completed assembly where the interfitted edge lugs and edge recesses serve to maintain such positioning and they may be mutually inclined or undercut for snap wedging action for this purpose. As shown in FIG. 4, the closure tube 18 may be integrally molded with the handle with a shearable small section 37 therebetween which may be broken by a twisting action in the completed assembly.

In assembly, the needle end 10 of the cannula is telescoped with the handle barrel formed by the trough portions 24, 24a and a plastic sheath or bag 38 slipped over the needle wings 12, 12a and the barrel portion 39 thereof which forms a rearward continuation of the cannula needle. The handle sections are then spread to release the interfitted lugs and recesses and permit location of the cannula wings and bag therebetween. The material of the handle sections at the base of the slots 28, 28a is sufficiently resilient to permit prying inwardly of the lip portions 40, 40a for reception of wing edges 14, 14a in the slots 28a, 28, respectively, and including the bag material. Release of the lip portions 40, 40a will then snug the bag covered wing edges 14, 14a in the slots and the handle sections are then pressed together to interengage the lugs and recesses, thus trapping the wings 12, 12a therebetween and with the bag material also snugly engaged. The package is sterilized and the bag sealed to enclose the handle enclosed portion of the cannula and the catheter tube 16 with its adapter or Luer-type fitting 42 carrying a plug 44 which carries a fine wire or plastic thread extending along the catheter tube to insure proper insertion thereof into the vein or other body portion of a patient. If the needle protecting tube is not integrally formed with the handle member, it is applied over the needle end of the catheter with the hub 18b abutting the ends of the trough portions 24, 24a of the handle member. Of course, the bag or sheath may be elongated further to also enclose the needle end of the catheter and the protective tube 18.

In use, the protective tube 18 is slidably removed from the needle end 10 of the cannula and if integral with the handle, it is first twisted to break the connection 37, and the handle member 20 grasped by the attendant to manipulate the needle end into the vein of the patient. When so positioned, the attendant will grasp the bag so as to grip the adapter 42 and plug 44 and urge the same gently forwardly until the catheter tube 16 has been projected through the cannula needle into the vein of the patient. Then the rear end of the bag 38 is severed in order to remove the plug 44 and its appendage so that the tube from an administration unit can be attached to the adapter 42. Then the handle 20 is manipulated to withdraw the cannula needle along the tube from its position of venipuncture and the handle sections 22, 22a separated to in turn separate and open up the cannula needle which assembly is then removed from the catheter tube and discarded.

Claims

I claim:

1. A sterile catheter and cannula assembly, comprising a break-away split cannula needle with a catheter tube telescoped therein and a removable protective tube covering the needle end of the cannula and having radially projecting wings to be separated in removing the cannula from the implanted catheter tube, a flexible plastic sheath enclosing at least the wings and included catheter tube, and a handle member with handle sections interfitted with and enclosing the cannula wings with the included sheath portion sandwiched therebetween for attachment, the free edges of the handle sections being provided with slots receiving the free edges of the cannula wings for interlocking engagement therewith, whereby separation of the handle sections will spread the cannula wings and needle with rupture of the sheath for removing the cannula from the implanted catheter tube.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free edges of the handle sections are directed outwardly for finger gripping thereof.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the handle sections are provided along the edges thereof with mutually interfitting lug and recess means.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle sections are provided along the edges with mutually inter-fitting lug and recess means with the cannula wings disposed therebetween.