Gamma-stable high pressure stopcock
AssigneeACIST Medical Systems, Inc.
InventorsThomas J. McPeak, Jon K. Moon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A medical stopcock is provided that is constructed and arranged to withstand high pressures and gamma irradiation. The stopcock generally includes a housing and a valve member. The valve member is trapped within the housing so that, when subjected to relatively high pressures, the valve member is unlikely to become separated from the housing. A handle member is attached to the valve member and allows the valve member to be rotated from open to closed positions. In some preferred embodiments, the handle member locks the valve member within the housing, when attached. All of the components are constructed of gamma-stable materials so that the stopcock may be sterilized, in its package, using gamma irradiation.
Claims37
A stopcock, capable of withstanding gamma irradiation, comprising:
- a housing constructed from gamma-stable material defining an inlet port, at least one outlet port, and an interior cavity having an inner diameter and open at two opposing ends;
- a valve member constructed from gamma-stable material rotatably contained within said interior cavity, defining a passage alignable with said ports, and having:
- an outer diameter substantially equal to said inner diameter;
- and,
- a stop at an end of said valve member extending radially therefrom such that said stop is unable to pass through said cavity;
- and,
- a handle member, attached to an opposite end of said valve member, constructed and arranged to allow rotation of said valve member and to prevent said valve member from becoming separated from said housing.
A method of making a stopcock comprising:
- providing a valve member of a gamma-stable material, said valve member defining a passage therethrough;
- passing a pin through said passage;
- over molding a gamma-stable material around said valve member with said pin to form a housing around said valve member;
- preventing said housing from fusing with said valve member;
- removing said pin once said housing has solidified.
A stopcock comprising:
- a housing constructed from gamma-stable material and defining an inlet port, at least one outlet port, and an interior cavity having an inner diameter and open at two opposing ends;
- a valve member constructed from gamma-stable material, said valve member rotatably contained within said cavity and defining a passage alignable with said ports;
- a mechanism operably attached to an end of said valve member, constructed and arranged to prevent said valve member from passing completely through the interior cavity of said housing, and;
- a handle member, operably attached to an opposite end of said valve member, constructed and arranged to allow rotation of said valve member and to prevent said valve member from becoming separated from said housing.
A stopcock comprising:
- a valve member of a first gamma-stable material having a longitudinal axis and a passage therethrough transverse to said longitudinal axis;
- a housing of a second gamma-stable material formed around the valve member, the housing having at least one open end and defining at least one inlet port and at least one outlet port, the ports alignable with the passage;
- whereby the valve member has varying circular cross-sectional areas measured in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, cross-sectional areas toward a middle of the valve member being greater than the cross-sectional areas toward ends of the valve member, and the housing defines an inner cavity sized to closely complement the valve member;
- and whereby the valve member and housing are shaped to allow rotation of the valve member around the longitudinal axis, relative to the housing, and to prevent movement in either direction along the longitudinal axis, relative to the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.