U.S. patent number 3,867,924 [Application Number 05/329,671] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-25 for internal blood collection.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Microbyx Corporation. Invention is credited to Louis Bucalo.
United States Patent |
3,867,924 |
Bucalo |
February 25, 1975 |
Internal blood collection
Abstract
Methods and devices to be used in connection with collection and
analyzing of blood. A device which is capable of receiving and
holding blood is introduced into the interior of a body cavity
where blood is present, and after the device remains in the body
cavity for a time sufficient to receive and hold blood, the device
is removed and at least part of the blood removed therewith is
tested. The device includes an outer holder formed with an entrance
through which blood may flow freely into the interior of the
holder, and within the holder is a structure such as a body of
filamentary material capable of retaining blood in the interior of
the holder. This device may be incorporated into a tampon
introduced into the vagina for collecting blood during the
menstrual cycle.
Inventors: |
Bucalo; Louis (Holbrook,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Microbyx Corporation (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
46705085 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/329,671 |
Filed: |
February 5, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
600/582; 604/330;
600/575; 604/540; 604/904 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
5/150045 (20130101); A61B 10/0045 (20130101); A61F
5/4553 (20130101); A61F 13/2051 (20130101); A61B
5/150213 (20130101); A61B 5/150099 (20130101); Y10S
604/904 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/20 (20060101); A61B 5/15 (20060101); A61B
10/00 (20060101); A61b 005/14 (); A61f
013/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/270,285,2F,127,275,272,DIG.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Approved Laboratory Technic, Kolmer et al., 5th Ed., 1959,
Appleton-Century-Crofts, N.Y..
|
Primary Examiner: Truluck; Dalton L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Steinberg and Blake
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a method for collecting and analyzing the blood of a living
being, the steps of introducing into a body of a living being whose
blood is to be analyzed, at a preexisting, accessible cavity of the
body which at least temporarily contains blood of the living being,
a device having an interior capable of receiving and holding blood
which is present in the cavity when the entire device is introduced
into and remains wholly within the cavity, said device having a
blood preservative preliminarily situated in its interior prior to
introduction of the device into the body cavity for preserving
blood which is received and held in the interior of the device,
said device being introduced into said cavity at a time which will
assure presence of the device in the cavity when blood is present
therein, removing the latter device from the body cavity after the
device has remained therein for a period of time sufficient to
receive and hold blood of the living being, so that blood is
removed with the device, and testing at least part of the blood
thus removed from the body cavity with the device.
2. In a method as recited in claim 1 and wherein the living being
is a human being.
3. In a method as recited in claim 2 and wherein the human being is
a female human being and the cavity is an internal cavity such as
the vagina in which blood is present at least periodically as a
result of natural functioning of a healthy being.
4. In a method as recited in claim 1 and wherein the cavity into
which the device is inserted is a cavity in which blood is present
as the result of a normally non-recurring event such as an illness,
an operation, or the like.
5. For use in the collection of blood in a body cavity, a tampon
means and at least one device carried by said tampon means for
receiving and holding blood which is accessible in the device upon
removal of the tampon means from the body cavity, said device
including an outer holder formed with an entrance means through
which blood can flow freely into the interior of the holder and
retaining means situated within and held by the holder for
retaining blood in the latter.
6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said retaining means is
in the form of a body of filamentary material.
7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein the filamentary material
is cotton.
8. The combination of claim 6 and wherein the filamentary material
includes fine gold wire.
9. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said holder is in the
form of a wall formed with a plurality of openings which constitute
said entrance means and through which blood can enter into the
interiof of the holder.
10. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said device is at least
partially embedded in said tampon means.
11. The combination of claim 10 and wherein said device is entirely
embedded within the tampon means for receiving only blood which has
first travelled through part of the tampon means.
12. For use in the collection of blood in a body cavity, a tampon
means and at least one device having a blood receiving interior
carried by said tampon means for receiving and holding blood which
is accessible in the device upon removal of the tampon means from
the body cavity, said device including a blood preservative in said
interior.
13. The combination of claim 12 and wherein the blood preservative
is citric acid.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the collection of blood.
Thus, it is well known that in order to test the condition of a
living being such as a human being or other animal, some of the
blood is removed from the living being and is analyzed in a number
of different ways. At the present time this blood is derived from
the living being by undesirable methods. For example it is known to
prick the tip of a finger, an earlobe, or the like, and in addition
it is known to extract blood from an artery with a suitable
syringe. These known procedures are highly disadvantageous since an
essential part thereof involves wounding the body, creating pain
and a certain amount of trauma and requiring not only operations
under conditions of high standards of hygiene and sterility to
avoid infection but also unavoidable discomfort which follows
during healing of the wound required for extraction of blood.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to
provide a method and device which will avoid these drawbacks.
In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a method
and device according to which it is possible to extract and analyze
blood without wounding the living being in any way for the purpose
of obtaining the blood.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to take advantage of
the presence of blood for any one of a number of different reasons
in a cavity of a living being in order to extract some of the
latter blood and utilize it for analysis.
It is in particular an object of the present invention to provide a
device which can be used at any part of the body of a living
creature where blood is present for the purpose of extracting some
of this blood so that it can then be analyzed.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method
and device of the above type which creates no discomfort
whatsoever, thus rendering it possible to achieve painless blood
extraction without any possibility of infection in connection with
the extraction of the blood and without requiring any healing
procedures in connection with the extraction of the blood.
According to the invention a device which is capable of receiving
and holding blood is introduced into the interior of a cavity of a
body of a living creature, this cavity being one in which blood is
in any event present. The device is removed from the cavity after
the device has remained therein for a period of time sufficient to
receive and hold blood, which is thus removed with the device, and
then at least part of the latter blood which is removed with the
device from the body cavity is tested.
The above device of the invention includes an outer holder which is
formed with an entrance means through which blood can flow into the
interior of the holder, and within the interior of the holder is a
retaining means which is capable of retaining and holding the
blood. According to a particular feature of the invention this
device may be incorporated into a tampon inserted into the vagina
during the menstrual cycle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying
drawings which form part of this application and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a device according to the
invention situated within a body cavity;
FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the device of FIG. 1
taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows and
showing the device at an enlarged scale;
FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of another embodiment of a device
according to the invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation of a further embodiment of a device
according to the invention; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional elevation showing how a plurality
of the devices of the invention may be incorporated into a
tampon.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to the present invention advantage is taken of the fact
that it is possible to carry out blood tests, in order to check on
the condition of a living being such as a human being, for example,
with blood which need not be derived from the body by procedures
which necessitate piercing through the skin of the body. Thus, up
to the present time blood tests have been carried out by extracting
blood from an artery or the like with a hyperdermic syringe or by
pricking the tip of the finger or the earlobe with a sharp
instrument and extracting the blood which flows from the wound. It
has been found that it is possible to derive all of the information
desired in connection with the condition of the body of a human
being or other living creature by checking blood such as blood
which flows during the normal menstrual cycle or checking blood
which is present in any body cavity such as blood which flows as
the result of an operation, blood which is present in any cavity as
a result of an injury, or any blood which is encountered in the
interior of the body as a result of any illness. Blood of this
latter type, which is not extracted from the body especially for
the purpose of analysis, also is capable of being analyzed with
equal effect.
Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown schematically therein a part 10
of a body such as the body of a human being, this part having an
internal cavity 12. This cavity may be the vagina or any other
cavity such as a sinus passage, the interior of the mouth, the
passage leading from the ear, the anal canal, or the like, so that
in accordance with the invention any internal body cavity where
blood is encountered may be used for the purposes of the present
invention. Within this cavity there is inserted in accordance with
the invention a device 14 which is small enough to be comfortably
received in the body cavity and retained therein while at the same
time being large enough to receive and hold an amount of blood
sufficient for subsequent analysis. Thus, the device 14 includes an
outer holder 16 in the form of a wall which is formed with an
entrance means in the form of a plurality of apertures or openings
18 in the illustrated example. In the illustrated example of FIGS.
1 and 2 the holder 16 is made up of a pair of complementary parts
16a and 16b which are provided with mating flanges 17 where they
are joined together and where they are releasably retained in
connection with each other by friction or by the use of a suitable
adhesive if desired. The wall 16 can be made of any material which
is compatible with the human body such as any one of a number of
different metals and any one of a number of different plastics
which will not soften or melt at body temperature. Thus, it is
possible to use for this purpose polyethylene, polypropylene,
polyvinylchloride, polystyrene, etc. The number of openings 18 is
sufficiently great to provide for free entry of blood into the
interior of the holder 16.
Within the holder 16 is situated a retaining means 20 which is
capable of retaining the blood which flows into the interior of the
holder 16 through the entrance means 18. This retaining means 20
preferably takes the form of a body of filamentary material such as
cotton wadding, or the like, which is also compatible with the
interior of a human being. Instead of cotton wadding it is possible
to use a filamentary material such as a compressed body of fine
gold wire, since gold is known to be compatible with human beings.
Even though a metallic wire filament which does not have absorbent
properties is utilized, the surface tension in the blood will cause
the blood to be retained at the interstices formed in the interior
of the body of compressed wire, and in addition it is to be noted
that it is possible to use combinations of filamentary material
such as gold wire and cotton, for example. Other filamentary
materials may be used to form the retaining means 20 such as, for
example, fine monofilaments of plastic. Thus, any plastic
compatible with the human body such as nylon, polyesters, and the
like, is readily available in fine filamentary form in which it can
be compressed into a body held in the holder 16 and forming the
retaining means 20.
However, the device of the invention need not take the specific
form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For example FIG. 3 shows a simple
receptacle 22 which may be made of any of the materials used for
the wall 16 and which has the form of a simple elongated tube which
is open at one end so as to be provided with an entrance means 24
through which the blood may flow freely into the interior of the
receptacle 22. This holder or receptacle 22 also has in its
interior a retaining means 26 in the form of a compressed body of
filamentary material which in the example of FIG. 3 may be cotton
wadding.
In the example of FIG. 4 the receptacle 22 provided with the
entrance means 24 is also illustrated, but in this case there is
situated within the interior of the holder 22 a retaining means 28
in the form of fine gold wire compressed as illustrated so that
blood will be retained along the surface of the wire and at the
interstices formed in the body of compressed filamentary material.
These bodies 26 and 28 will be retained in the holders 22 simply by
frictional pressure against the inner surface of the holder 22.
According to a particular feature of the invention, a tampon 30 may
be used as shown in FIG. 5. This is a tampon as is conventionally
used by female human beings during the menstrual cycle. Thus, the
tampon 30 is introduced into the vagina during the menstrual cycle
and has a string 32 extending from the tampon so that it can be
removed.
This tampon 30 differs from a conventional tampon in that it has
incorporated into the body of the tampon a plurality of the devices
of the invention such as the devices 14 described above and shown
in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Moreover, with any of the above devices of the invention is is
possible to incorporate into the retaining means a suitable blood
preservative such as citric acid, for example.
In practicing the method of the invention, the device of the
invention is inserted into a body cavity where blood will be
encountered. Thus, as pointed out above, the tampon 30 is
introduced into the vagina during the menstrual cycle. However, it
is possible to introduce any of the devices of FIGS. 1-4 into a
cavity such as the anal canal in an individual who is suffering
from hemorrhoids, for example. Also, where there is bleeding of the
gums in the mouth of a human being or bleeding in the mouth from
any source, it is possible to situate a device such as the device
14 or the devices of FIGS. 3 and 4 in the interior of the mouth,
wedged between the gums and lips, for example. It is possible to
introduce the device of the invention into the ear where bleeding
is encountered in the ear. It is also possible to introduce the
device into a nostril where bleeding is encountered or into a sinus
cavity where bleeding is encountered. Thus, wherever blood is
encountered in a body cavity, either as the result of natural
functioning of a healthy human being, as would be the case with the
tampon 30 of FIG. 5, or as the result of an illness, an operation,
or the like at any body cavity, it is possible to use the device of
the invention. Thus, in accodance with the method of the invention
the device of the invention is inserted into the body cavity and is
permitted to remain at the body cavity for a period of time which
is sufficient to enable blood to flow freely into the interior of
the holder of the device and to be retained by the retaining means
therein. Thereafter the device is removed from the interior of the
body cavity and the blood in the device can be tested in any
conventional manner. For example the two sections 16a and 16b of
the device 14 are removed from each other and the means 20 may be
used to smear slides which can be examined under the microscope and
it can be compressed in any suitable way so as to cause the liquid
blood to be compressed out of the body 20 and received in any
suitable container to which additional materials are added for
testing purposes, as is well known. For example, the blood which is
squeezed from the retaining means may be received in a test tube
which has in it a known reagent, and such test tubes are then
capable of being placed in blood analyzing machines such as well
known machines which optically analyze the blood.
It is apparent, therefore, that with the present invention in order
to test the blood of an individual it is not necessary to wound the
individual and instead it becomes possible to utilize blood which
is in any event present at a body cavity for the purpose blood
testing.
In the claims which follow, the term "accessible" as used with
reference to a cavity of the body is intended to mean a body cavity
to which access may be had without requiring any procedures such as
piercing a part of the body with a needle, for example. Thus, an
"accessible cavity" is intended to mean a body cavity the interior
of which is accessible because of the nature of the cavity, such
cavities being, for example, the vagina, the mouth, the ear, the
nose, the rectum, and the like, all of which are accessible without
puncturing or otherwise wounding the body and all of which may at
times have internal bleeding which provides a source of blood which
may be used with the present invention. In addition, however, the
term "accessible" is intended to cover body cavities which become
accessible for reasons other than collection of blood. For example
any interior part of the body which becomes accessible due to
wounding of the body by accident or due to surgical procedures are
also considered to be "accessible" in the sense called for by the
claims inasmuch as such cavities also are sources of blood which
can be collected and tested although these cavities do not become
accessible for the purpose of obtaining samples of blood for
testing purposes.
* * * * *