Blood seal having a spring-biased septum
OwnerGlade H. Howellinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A blood seal having a spring-biased septum is provided for preventing the leakage of blood during the placement and use of vascular catheters and similar devices. The structure of the blood seal includes a housing with an internal channel. A spring-biased septum is placed securely within the channel such that it substantially blocks blood flow through the channel. The spring-biased septum includes an elastic plug having a pre-slit or pre-molded hole and a biasing element disposed about the elastic plug. A needle or other object may be withdrawn through the slit or hole, after which the biasing element forces the hole closed, preventing blood leakage.
Claims23
A spring-biased septum for use in a medical device comprising:
- an elastic plug having a slit disposed longitudinally through the plug;
- a biasing element contacting the plug and disposed such that the biasing element urges the longitudinal slit into a closed position.
A spring-biased septum comprising:
- an elastic plug comprising an annular groove;
- a slit disposed longitudinally through the elastic plug;
- and
- a biasing element contacting said plug and disposed within the annular groove of the elastic plug such that the biasing element substantially closes the slit to fluid leakage.
A blood seal comprising:
- a housing;
- an internal channel disposed through the housing;
- an elastic plug disposed within and substantially blocking the internal channel;
- a slit disposed longitudinally through the elastic plug;
- and
- a biasing element contacting the elastic plug such that the biasing element substantially closes the slit to fluid leakage.
A method of introducing a catheter into a blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- gaining access to the blood vessel by means of a needle comprising a proximal end and a distal end comprising a sharp tip, said needle being disposed longitudinally within a catheter having a proximal end connected to a housing and a distal end, such that the sharp tip of the needle projects beyond the distal end of the catheter and at least part of the proximal end of the needle is disposed within a slit in a spring-biased septum that is disposed within and substantially blocks an internal channel through the housing, said spring-biased septum comprising an elastic plug and a biasing element;
- introducing the distal end of the catheter into the blood vessel;
- and
- withdrawing the needle from the blood vessel without removing the distal end of the catheter from the blood vessel by pulling on a finger grip attached to the proximal end of the needle such that the needle is withdrawn through the spring-biased septum.
A method of introducing a catheter into a blood vessel comprising the steps of:
- gaining access to the blood vessel by means of a needle comprising a proximal end and a distal end comprising a sharp tip, said needle being disposed longitudinally within a catheter having a proximal end in fluid connection with a housing and a distal end, such that the sharp tip of the needle projects beyond the distal end of the catheter and the proximal end of the needle is attached to a wire, at least part of said wire being disposed within a slit in a spring-biased septum that is disposed within and substantially blocks an internal channel through the housing, said spring-biased septum comprising an elastic plug and a biasing element;
- introducing the distal end of the catheter into the blood vessel;
- and
- withdrawing the needle from the blood vessel without removing the catheter from the blood vessel by pulling on a finger grip attached to the wire such that the wire and the needle are withdrawn through the spring-biased septum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.