Pressure-regulating fluid transfer systems and methods
AssigneeICU Medical, Inc.
InventorsBhupinder Chhikara, Srinath Lingutla, Brandon Eads
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various systems and methods for the pressure-regulated transfer of medical fluids are disclosed. The system can include an adapter assembly that connects with a medical container and with a syringe assembly. The syringe assembly can include a first reservoir and a second reservoir. In various embodiments, when the adapter assembly and the syringe assembly are coupled, the first reservoir and the container can exchange regulating fluid and the second reservoir and the container can exchange medical liquid from the medical container.
Claims20
A pressure-regulating syringe assembly configured to couple with a flexible medicinal container containing a liquid, the pressure-regulating syringe assembly comprising:
- an elongate body comprising a rigid sidewall;
- a first fluid reservoir located inside the elongate body, the first fluid reservoir configured to contain a volume of regulating fluid, the first fluid reservoir having a sidewall that is bounded by the rigid sidewall of the elongate body;
- and
- a second fluid reservoir located inside the elongate body, the second fluid reservoir configured to provide medical liquid to the flexible medicinal container;
- wherein the pressure-regulating syringe assembly is configured such that, when the syringe assembly is coupled with the flexible medicinal container in an inverted position such that an upper surface of the liquid in the flexible medicinal container is above the syringe assembly, medicinal liquid can be introduced into the flexible medicinal container from the second fluid reservoir without forming a vacuum in the first fluid reservoir and without drawing ambient air into the first reservoir.
A method of transferring fluid, the method comprising:
- connecting an adapter with a variable volume medical container comprising readily flexible walls, the variable volume medical container containing a diluent liquid;
- connecting a syringe unit with the adapter, the syringe unit comprising a rigid tube comprising a rigid sidewall;
- positioning the adapter and syringe unit below an upper surface of the diluent liquid;
- depressing a plunger of the syringe unit;
- expelling medical liquid from a medical liquid reservoir of the syringe unit;
- and
- introducing the medical liquid into the liquid diluent in the variable volume medical container while maintaining substantially ambient pressure in a regulating reservoir of the syringe unit and without drawing ambient air into the regulating reservoir, at least part of the regulating reservoir being bounded by the sidewall of the rigid tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.