Suction liquid collection assembly and flexible collecting bag therefor

A flexible liquid collection bag suitable for use in a suction blood collection system comprising:

• a bag membrane forming front and rear bag faces joined alongside, top and bottom peripheral edges such that the membrane may be clamped between rigid pressure shell components;
• fluid inlet and air outlet ports formed near the top of the bag, each through an edge thereof, and a drain port formed near the bottom of the bag through an edge thereof;
• a filter element within the bag which divides the bag into inlet and outlet chambers, the filter element lying substantially flat between front and rear faces of the bag when the bag is collapsed, the fluid inlet port passing into the inlet chamber near the top thereof, the air outlet port passing from the outlet chamber near the top thereof and the drain port passing from the outlet chamber near the bottom thereof;
• and
• a vent hole through the bag membrane for equalizing pressure applied to the bag faces.

A suction liquid collection assembly of the type having a flexible, impervious liquid collection bag associated with a vacuum chamber, the bag including a fluid inlet port at about the top of the bag, an outlet port at about the top of the bag to which a vacuum source is connectable to draw liquid and air through the inlet port into the collection bag, and a drain port at the bottom of the bag, the improvement of:

• the liquid collection bag comprising a bag membrane forming front and rear bag faces joined along peripheral edges with the fluid inlet port, the outlet port and the drain port each passing through the peripheral edges of the bag;
• the vacuum chamber comprising at least two shells hinged together at an edge;
• and
• in an operating arrangement, the bag periphery being securely clamped between the shells along the entire bag periphery such that the bag periphery forms a gas sealing gasket between the shells, with the fluid inlet port, outlet port and drain port clamped between the shells, a vacuum being drawn from the vacuum chamber on each face of the bag.