Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Sampling nonliquid body material
Patent
1997-02-24
1998-12-08
Hindenburg, Max
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Sampling nonliquid body material
600584, A61B 500
Patent
active
058462090
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a syringe, preferably an injector syringe, the syringe comprising a cylindrical receiver and inside it plunger means comprising a plunger and a rod.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Collecting microbiological sweep samples is an important part of hygiene control in industrial establishments, hospitals, laboratories and other places where the hygiene of the premises, apparatuses and equipment is an absolute operational prerequisite. Sweep samples may also be collected from e.g. human skin or mucous membranes for clinical diagnostics.
Samples may alternatively be taken by picking. In further processing of microbiological samples, a sample may be taken, e.g. from a culture substrate, such as a Petri dish, of microbial colonies by picking a colony into proper sampling means, such as a cotton swab.
Usually a microbiological sweep sample or a picked sample is suspended from sampling means into a buffer solution or any other appropriate solution, where it may be further examined and handled. In this case a usual method for acquiring additional information on possible microbes adhered to the sampling means is so-called subculture. This is usually accomplished by transferring the microbial suspension to be examined to a liquid culture substrate or to a solid culture substrate (e.g. a Petri dish). Thereafter the microbes in the culture substrate are incubated for at least some hours, but usually for one or more days, even weeks.
In some situations rapid completion of a microbiological analysis is crucially important e.g. for the success of a patient's treatment, in choosing cleansing measures in hygiene control, for industrial quality control etc. Many factors have further increased the threat caused by microbes (hospital infections, new human and animal pathogens, previously unknown industrial microbial contaminants, environmental microbiological pollution etc.). In order to be able to respond to these challenges adequately effectively, so-called rapid diagnostic methods are needed for indicating and identifying microbes.
For effecting microbiological rapid tests, several methods have been developed based on e.g. genetic analysis or immunodiagnosis. The expression "rapid test" in its proper sense refers to a method not requiring a time-consuming culture of microbes for enriching them in a sample (pre-incubation). In many practical situations rapid tests have to be used whereat the samples to be examined often have an extremely low content of microbial cells.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for taking microbiological sweep samples, the apparatus allowing an extremely simple transfer of microbes into a suspending solution, from where the microbes may be gathered by filtration (enrichment without microbial culture) and further processed for an immunological determination in a manner described in Finnish Patent Application 924,834. The apparatus of the invention may also be used with methods where microbes are cultivated. By swinging the apparatus as a test tube, its contents may be treated, which is one manner of operating the apparatus of the invention.
The above objects are achieved with the syringe of the invention, which is characterized in that the surface facing away from the plunger rod comprises an adhering substrate for microbes. The adhering substrate is preferably of cotton. It is also preferable that the adhering substrate is arranged onto means detachably attachable to the plunger, as such an adhering substrate is easily replaceable and the adhering surface may be arranged to suit different purposes of use. This decreases work and working phases in sampling. It is also possible to suspend the sample in the same means where the sample is being transferred, which is preferable especially when hazardous microbes are handled.
The preferable embodiments of the invention are described in the attached claims 2 through 10.
The invention is based on the realization that the plunger of a conventional manual syr
REFERENCES:
patent: 3450129 (1969-06-01), Avery
patent: 4164212 (1979-08-01), Schuster
patent: 4252904 (1981-02-01), Nelson et al.
patent: 4784158 (1988-11-01), Okinoto
patent: 4960130 (1990-10-01), Guirguis
patent: 5339828 (1994-08-01), Keating et al.
patent: 5339829 (1994-08-01), Thieme et al.
patent: 5477863 (1995-12-01), Grant
LandOfFree
Syringe comprising an adhering substrate for microbes does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Syringe comprising an adhering substrate for microbes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Syringe comprising an adhering substrate for microbes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-172082