Sampling catheter
AssigneesHunt Developments (UK) Ltd., Imperial College Innovations Limited
InventorsDuncan Hunt, Toby Hunt, Trevor Hunt, Trevor T. Hansel
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Abstract
The invention relates to a catheter for obtaining a sample of mucosal lining fluid from a precise airway or gastrointestinal location in a patient. The catheter comprises a sampling tube and a sampling head, which is in fluid connection with the sampling tube and which has a permeable material in an interior cavity. The sampling head is closed by an exterior wall in which there are a plurality of small apertures such that fluid enters the catheter when the interior pressure is reduced. The catheter can deploy directly through the mouth or nose or via an instrument such as an endoscope, laryngoscope or tracheal tube.
Claims20
A catheter for obtaining a sample of mucosal lining fluid from a sampling region in the respiratory tract or the upper gastrointestinal tract, wherein the catheter comprises:
- iii. a sampling tube having a lumen;
- and
- iv. a sampling head at the distal end of the sampling tube, wherein the sampling head comprises an interior cavity in fluid connection with the lumen and a permeable material within the interior cavity;
- wherein the sampling head is closed by an exterior wall in which there are a plurality of apertures, wherein the permeable material is in contact with the exterior wall and the apertures and wherein the diameter of the apertures is substantially smaller than the internal diameter of the lumen and is such that a sample fluid can pass through the apertures into the interior cavity only when the pressure in the interior cavity is reduced compared to the pressure outside the catheter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.