Low trauma blood recovery system

A low trauma blood recovery system comprising:

• first and second conduits having closely adjacent ends configured and arranged to be placed at a wound site with both said ends at the wound site,
• first means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said first conduit to cause blood to flow through the first conduit at a low velocity,
• second means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said second conduit to cause flow through said second conduit at a velocity greater than said low velocity, and
• a third conduit integrally formed with and extending along said first conduit, said first and third conduits being formed of a resilient material and positioned in a compressed side-by-side relation within said second conduit, the maximum dimension across the total width of said side-by-side first and third conduits in uncompressed relation being greater than the internal diameter of said second conduit, whereby said first and third conduits are resiliently positioned and compressed within said second conduit.

A blood recovery system comprising:

• first and second closely adjacent wand conduits having end portions adapted to be placed at a wound site,
• first and second defoamer modules,
• first and second connecting conduits independently connecting said first and second wand conduits with said first and second modules, respectively, and
• means for independently applying negative gauge pressure to each said module, thereby to provide mutually independent negative gauge pressures to said first and second conduits.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer foam blood mixture wand conduit secured to said wand housing having an end portion,
• a plurality of mutually adjacent inner wand conduits within said outer wand conduit and including a liquid blood wand conduit having an end portion projecting slightly beyond the end portion of said outer conduit, and
• a multi-conduit array having individual connecting conduits respectively connected to individual ones of said outer foam blood mixture wand conduit and each of adjacent inner wand conduits within said outer foam blood mixture wand conduit.

Blood collection apparatus comprising:

• a housing,
• a blood defoamer in said housing,
• conduit means for introducing blood to be recovered into said housing,
• vacuum means for applying a vacuum to said housing to draw blood through said defoamer into said housing,
• a storage reservoir connected to the housing, and
• pump means mounted to said housing means for transferring blood from said housing to said reservoir, said housing having a total internal volume of not more than two liters for allowing variations of pressure within said housing to be more rapidly responsive to variation of vacuum applied by said vacuum means.

Blood collection apparatus comprising:

• a housing,
• a blood defoamer and filter in said housing
• means for introducing blood to be recovered into said filter,
• vacuum means for applying a vacuum to said housing to draw blood through said filter into said housing,
• a storage reservoirs, and
• means for transferring blood from said housing to said reservoir, said means for transferring comprising a pump body, a flexible diaphragm mounted within said body and extending across the body to divide the body into separate pumping and pressure chambers, said housing having a blood outlet fitting, an inlet valve in said pumping chamber connected to said fitting, an outlet valve in said pumping chamber connected to said storage reservoir, and means for applying a pulsating pressure to said pressure chamber.

A cardiotomy reservoir comprising:

• a housing having an output port,
• a blood defoamer in the housing,
• a blood input port in the housing for flowing blood into the defoamer,
• a pump connected to the housing and having an input valve connected to said output port,
• means for applying negative gauge pressure to said housing to draw blood into said defoamer, and
• means for operating the pump to draw blood from said housing,
• said housing having an internal volume of not more than two liters, to improve the response time of internal pressure in the reservoir to changes in negative gauge pressure applied to the housing.

A cardiotomy reservoir comprising:

• a housing having an output port,
• a blood defoamer and filter in the housing,
• a blood input port in the housing for flowing blood into the defoamer and filter,
• a pump fixed to the housing and having an input valve connected to said output port,
• means for applying negative gauge pressure to said housing to draw blood into said defoamer and filter, and
• means for operating the pump to draw blood from said housing, said pump comprising a pump housing having an outlet valve, a flexible diaphragm dividing the pump housing into pumping and pressure chambers, said input and outlet valves being in said pumping chamber, and means for applying a pulsating pressure to said diaphragm.

A low trauma blood recovery system comprising:

• a wand housing,
• first and second closely adjacent conduits mounted in said wand housing and having open end portions attached to one another and that terminate closely adjacent to each other adapted to be placed at a wound site to cause each conduit to be independently and directly open to said wound site,
• first means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said first conduit to cause blood to flow through the first conduit end portion at a low velocity,
• second means independent of said first means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said second conduit to cause flow through said second conduit end portion at a velocity independent of said low velocity and greater than said low velocity,
• a signaling switch on said housing, and
• signal conducting means connected to said switch and housing for conducting a signal to a location remote from said housing.

A blood recovery system comprising:

• a housing,
• a bail
• first, second and third closely adjacent conduits mounted in said housing and having open ends in said bail and separately open directly to said wound site, said open ends of said first and second conduits terminating in said bail closely adjacent to one another and being attached to one another by said bail,
• first means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said first conduit to cause flow through the first conduit from a wound site,
• second means independent of said first means for applying a discrete negative gauge pressure to said second conduit to cause flow through said second conduit from a wound site independent of said flow through said first conduit, and
• means for causing flow through said third conduit toward said wound site.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing and having an end portion,
• a bail mounted to the end portion of said outer wand conduit,
• a first inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit, said outer wand conduit and said first inner wand conduit having mutually separate open ends mounted in said bail and attached to each other, said open ends terminating in said bail closely adjacent to one another and being configured and arranged to be positioned in mutual proximity within a wound site to enable fluid to be sucked from the wound site at both said open ends,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits, and
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing,
• a first inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit, said outer wand conduit and said first inner wand conduit having mutually adjacent ends configured and arranged to be positioned in mutual proximity within a wound site to enable fluid to be sucked from the wound site at both said mutually adjacent ends,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits,
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit, and
• a plurality of resilient inner wand conduits within said outer wand conduit, said first inner wand conduit comprising one of said resilient inner wand conduits, said resilient inner wand conduits being transversely compressed against each other and against inner walls of said outer wand conduit thereby resiliently and frictionally securing said inner wand conduits to and within said outer wand conduit.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing,
• a first inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits, and
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit,
• a plurality of resilient inner wand conduits within said outer wand conduit, said first inner wand conduit comprising one of said resilient inner wand conduits, said resilient inner wand conduits being transversely compressed against each other and against inner walls of said outer wand conduit thereby resiliently and frictionally securing said inner wand conduits to and within said outer wand conduit, at least two of said inner resilient wand conduits being formed by a single integral extrusion.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing,
• an inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits,
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit, said outer wand conduit comprising a foam blood mixture wand conduit and said inner wand conduit comprising a liquid blood wand conduit, said foam blood mixture wand conduit having an end, and said liquid blood wand conduit having an end extending a small distance beyond the end of said foam blood mixture wand conduit, and
• a bail fixed to said outer wand conduit and having a bail end, said foam blood mixture wand conduit terminating within said bail at a first distance from said bail end, said liquid blood wand conduit terminating within said bail at a second distance from said bail end that is smaller than said first mentioned distance.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing,
• a first inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits, and
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit,
• a plurality of resilient inner wand conduits within said outer wand conduit, said first inner wand conduit comprising one of said resilient inner wand conduits, said resilient inner wand conduits being transversely compressed against each other and against inner walls of said outer wand conduit thereby resiliently and frictionally securing said inner wand conduits to and within said outer wand conduit, said outer wand conduit comprising a foam blood mixture wand conduit, said resilient inner wand conduits including a liquid blood wand conduit, a rinse wand conduit and an anticoagulant wand conduit, all compressed against one another within said outer wand conduit.

Blood recovery apparatus comprising:

• a suction wand housing,
• an outer wand conduit connected to said housing,
• a first inner wand conduit within said outer wand conduit,
• first and second connecting conduits connected respectively said outer and inner wand conduits, and
• a transition section connecting said outer wand conduit with said first connecting conduit,
• a plurality of resilient inner wand conduits within said outer wand conduit, said first inner wand conduit comprising one of said resilient inner wand conduits, said resilient inner wand conduits being transversely compressed against each other and against inner walls of said outer wand conduit thereby resiliently and frictionally securing said inner wand conduits to and within said outer wand conduit, all of said inner wand conduits being formed as an integral group of side-by-side extruded conduits.

Blood collection apparatus comprising:

• a housing,
• a blood defoamer and filter in said housing,
• means for introducing blood to be recovered into said filter,
• vacuum means for applying a vacuum to said housing to draw blood through said filter into said housing, said housing having a bottom interior surface that forms a relatively narrow inclined passage for flowing defoamed and filtered blood by gravity toward one end of the housing,
• said housing having an internal volume of not more than two liters, to improve response time of said internal volume to changes in vacuum applied to said housing,
• a membrane blood pump fixedly connected to said housing at said one end thereof, and
• a flexible blood storage bag connected to receive blood from said blood pump.