Puncturing Devices, Puncturing Systems Including the Puncturing Devices, and Methods Thereof

A puncturing system configured to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, comprising:

• a puncturing device including:
• a needle having a shaft, a lumen defined by an inner diameter of the shaft, and a tip in a distal-end portion of the shaft;
• and
• a hub disposed over a proximal-end portion of the shaft, the hub including a blood-flashback chamber in fluid communication with the lumen of the needle configured to capture an aliquot of blood in the blood-flashback chamber at a time of accessing a vein or an artery of a patient by way of a puncture with the needle;
• and
• an external meter including:
• an oxygen sensor configured for placement about the blood-flashback chamber of the puncturing device, the oxygen sensor configured to measure oxygen in any captured blood in the blood-flashback chamber for subsequently determining a concentration of the oxygen in the captured blood, comparing the concentration of the oxygen in the captured blood to that expected for venous blood or arterial blood, and indicating whether the captured blood is venous blood or arterial blood to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, respectively.

A puncturing device configured to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, comprising:

• a needle including a shaft, a lumen defined by an inner diameter of the shaft, and a tip in a distal-end portion of the shaft;
• a hub disposed over a proximal-end portion of the shaft, the hub including a blood-flashback chamber in fluid communication with the lumen of the needle configured to capture an aliquot of blood in the blood-flashback chamber at a time of accessing a vein or an artery of a patient by way of a puncture with the needle;
• and
• an oxygen sensor integrated with the hub configured to indicate a concentration of oxygen in any captured blood in the blood-flashback chamber for subsequently determining whether the concentration of the oxygen in the captured blood is consistent with venous blood or arterial blood to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, respectively.

A puncturing system configured to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, comprising:

• a puncturing device including:
• a needle including a shaft, a lumen defined by an inner diameter of the shaft, and a tip in a distal-end portion of the shaft;
• a hub disposed over a proximal-end portion of the shaft;
• and
• a pair of electrodes disposed in the shaft of the needle configured to apply and detect small electrical currents for measuring impedance of any blood in the shaft;
• and
• an external meter coupled to the pair of electrodes configured to determine impedance from electrical resistivity of any blood in the shaft, compare the impedance to that expected for venous blood or arterial blood, and indicate whether the impedance is consistent with venous blood or arterial blood to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, respectively.

A puncturing system configured to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, comprising:

• a puncturing device including:
• a needle including a shaft, a lumen defined by an inner diameter of the shaft, and a tip in a distal-end portion of the shaft;
• a hub disposed over a proximal-end portion of the shaft;
• and
• a pressure sensor disposed in the shaft of the needle configured to respond to changes in pressure resulting from any blood upon entering the shaft;
• and
• an external meter coupled to the pressure sensor configured to determine mean blood pressure from the changes in pressure received from the pressure sensor, compare the mean blood pressure to that expected for venous blood or arterial blood, and indicate whether the mean blood pressure is consistent with venous blood pressure or arterial blood pressure to differentiate between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, respectively.

A method for differentiating between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, comprising:

• accessing a vein or an artery of a patient by way of a puncture with a puncturing device, the puncturing device including:
• a needle including a shaft, a lumen defined by an inner diameter of the shaft, and a tip in a distal-end portion of the shaft;
• a hub disposed over a proximal-end portion of the shaft, the hub including a blood-flashback chamber in fluid communication with the lumen of the needle configured to capture an aliquot of blood in the blood-flashback chamber at a time of accessing a vein or an artery of a patient by way of a puncture with the needle;
• and
• a blood-flashback chamber in fluid communication with the lumen of the needle configured to capture an aliquot of blood in the blood-flashback chamber at a time of accessing the vein or the artery of the patient;
• and
• consulting a puncture-differentiation means for differentiating between a venipuncture and an arterial puncture, the puncture-differentiating means including an oxygen sensor for measuring oxygen in any blood captured in the blood-flashback chamber, a pair of electrodes for measuring impedance of any blood in the shaft, or a pressure sensor for measuring changes in pressure resulting from any blood entering the shaft.