US 9,427,552 B2Granted

Medical tubing and catheter control

OwnerBernard Engelhardtinventor

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Abstract

One embodiment is an improved method for providing a tube for attachment to a medical device such as a catheter that provides for intermittent changes in tube path length as a result of body movement thereby reducing the stress and pain caused by pulling on the device, as well as the optional provision to provide a very low, controlled tension that provides improved stability of the medical device without damage to the surrounding body tissues. In at least one embodiment, there is a decrease in infection risk by the patient. This controlled tension can be applied or removed intermittently by a medical practitioner or the patient. Other embodiments provide for extension in tubal path length while simultaneously providing for intermittent or continuous low tension pull on the catheter. Provision is also made for a continuous smooth fluid path with no moving internal parts.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method of minimizing the damage to bodily tissues caused by the movements and pressures of a catheter in a mobile patient's bladder over several days, the method comprising:

inserting the catheter into the patient's bladder and inflating a balloon against an interior of the mobile patient's bladder,
connecting the catheter to one end of a tube, the tube attached to a base;
securing the base to a patient's thigh when a position of the patient's thigh is such that a distance from a point of securing to the catheter is at a minimum and the balloon is at a bottom of the bladder, an elastic member elongating and contracting in response to changes in the relative distance between the base and the catheter that result from the movements of the mobile patient whereby the elastic member applies a tensile force not exceeding a safe maximum tensile force to the catheter;
conveying the fluid to or from the patient's body through the catheter and the tube;
wherein creating a condition whereby the elastic member reduces the movement of the catheter by compensating for movement of the base by elongating and shortening thus reducing pistonning of the catheter, minimizing damage to bodily tissues and reducing the risk of infection, the elastic member maintains the direction of pull substantially constant and substantially maintaining the tensile force not exceeding the safe maximum tensile force on the catheter, and the base being attached to the patient's thigh isolates the catheter from any pulls on an outgoing portion of the tube;
wherein the safe maximum tensile force distributed by the balloon over the bottom of the bladder corresponds to a surface pressure that is less than the blood pressure in blood vessels around the bottom of the bladder.

3 more elements

A method for minimizing the damage to surrounding body tissues caused by movements and pressures of a catheter in a patient's bladder over a period of several days where the patient is free to move about and to lower the risk of infection, the method comprising:

inserting the catheter into the patient's bladder and inflating a balloon inside the patient's bladder;
connecting the catheter to a controller having an incoming tube for connection to the catheter and an outgoing tube for connection to a collection bag, where the incoming tube includes an elastic member that elongates and/or contracts as the controller moves relative to the catheter;
securing the controller to a thigh of the patient where a distance between the catheter and the controller is at a minimum and the balloon is resting on a bottom of the bladder to provide for a minimal tension on the catheter;
conveying fluid from the patient's bladder through the catheter and the controller to the collection bag;
and
compensating for movement of the controller on the thigh relative to the catheter by allowing the elastic member to elongate and/or contract while maintaining the balloon at the bottom of the bladder and substantially applying a tension level on the catheter to minimize pistonning of the catheter, wherein the tension level is limited to not exceed a safe maximum tensile force, the safe maximum tensile force distributed by the balloon over the bottom of the bladder corresponding to a surface pressure that is less than the blood pressure in blood vessels around the bottom of the bladder.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/173,346Filed 30 Jun 2011 · us provisional application
Priority: 30 Jun 2010
Published: US 2012/0089129 A112 Apr 2012
Granted: 30 Aug 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

A61M 25/02
Introducing, guiding, advancing, emplacing or holding catheters: holding devices, e.g. on the body
A61F 5/44
Orthopaedic methods or devices for non-surgical treatment of bones or joints; Nursing devices ; Anti-rape devices: devices worn by the patient for…
A61M 25/0017
Catheters; Hollow probes: specially adapted for long-term hygiene care, e.g. urethral or indwelling catheters to prevent infections
A61M 2025/0206
Holding devices, e.g. on the body: where the catheter is secured by using devices worn by the patient, e.g. belts or harnesses