Tracheostomy tubes and their manufacture
AssigneeIcu Medical International Limited
InventorsTimothy Bateman, Christopher John Woosnam, Andrew Thomas Jeffrey, Jonathan McNeill Flint
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tracheostomy tube has a shaft (10) with a flange (20) dividing the shaft into a patient end portion (22) for extending within the trachea and a machine end portion (23) for extending externally of the patient. The machine end portion (23) is reinforced by a plastics sleeve assembly (40) bonded to its outside. The sleeve assembly (40) includes a plastics sleeve member (41) having a shallow helical groove (43) around its outer surface. A plastic filament (42) is bonded into and around the groove to provide a helical reinforcing structure.
Claims12
1-11. (canceled)
A tracheostomy tube having a shaft of a plastics material, a patient end portion of the shaft being adapted to extend into the a patient's trachea and a machine end portion of the shaft having a length and an outer surface being adapted to extend outwardly of the patient's body, characterised in that the machine end portion is reinforced along at least a part of the length by a separately formed plastics sleeve assembly incorporating a helical formation, and that the sleeve assembly is secured with the outer surface of the machine end portion.
A method of manufacturing a tracheostomy tube comprising:
- providing a tubular, plastics shaft having a patient end portion adapted to extend into a patient's trachea and a machine end portion having an outer surface adapted to extend outwardly of the patient's trachea;
- providing a separately formed plastics sleeve assembly incorporating a helical formation;
- and
- securing the sleeve assembly with the outer surface of the machine end portion of the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.