Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-02
2004-07-20
Casler, Brian L. (Department: 3763)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
C604S211000, C604S222000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06764469
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a color-coded medical dosing container designed to simplify, expedite and increase the accuracy of medication dosing for patients. The particular embodiments disclosed herein are of a syringe that utilizes interchangeable dosing inserts which are removably positioned within a plunger. Each dosing insert features a series of color-coded dosing zones based on a universal dosing value of the patient, such as weight or length. The universal dosing value is used to assign a dosing zone, or “color”, to the patient. Once the proper dosing “color” has been assigned, the color is used to determine correct doses of medication for the patient. The assigned color remains the same for all medication dosing as long as the weight or length of the patient remains within the range of lengths or weights that fall within the dosing zone to which the assigned color applies.
Although the syringe of the present invention has application in any clinical, public or home health setting where providing accurate doses of medication is required, the invention is specifically intended for use in providing care to pediatric patients. As used herein, medication may include, but is not limited to, any prescription or non-prescription fluid for treating a medical condition or for providing nutrition or hydration to a patient or other individual.
Color-coded dosing zones are utilized as part of a universal medication dosing system, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,713,888 and 6,132,416. However, those patents fail to address problems associated with using a syringe to measure and administer medications. Prior methods of using a syringe to administer doses of medication involve using a plunger to draw the medication into the barrel of the syringe while simultaneously attempting to determine the volume of medication in the barrel by reading a dosing scale which is printed on the outside of the barrel. A measurement of the volume of fluid in the barrel can only be made by viewing gradations on the outside of the barrel.
The risk of error associated with prior art syringes is further exacerbated by the likelihood that the dosage amount was either determined by making an educated guess or quickly performing a multi-step mathematical calculation in an attempt to convert a given concentration of the medication in question to arrive at a dose appropriate for the patient. Even under the best of circumstances, inadvertent mistakes are sometimes made when calculating doses of medicine—especially when a pediatric patient is involved. While such risks are present when determining doses for adults, they are more critical in determining doses for pediatric patients. Unfortunately, providing a dosing method that eliminates the need for such calculations does not adequately address the disadvantages associated with using a prior art syringe to deliver a dose of medication to a patient. Regardless of whether the dose is determined using a color-coded or other simplified dosing scale, the position of the scale on the outside of the barrel of the syringe limits the number of medications for which the syringe may be used to those medications sharing a common concentration. This decreases the cost-effectiveness of the syringe by reducing the ways in which the syringe may be utilized to deliver medication to the patient.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with prior art methods of determining and administering medically correct doses of fluid or drugs to a patient by providing a syringe having a plunger within which a removable color-coded insert is positioned. The insert includes a series of color-coded or similarly designated dosing zones along its length. The position of each zone relative to the stopper on the plunger is inversely correlated to the volume of fluid retained within the interior of the barrel. Therefore, dosing zones appearing on the insert near the proximal end of the plunger adjacent the handle are used to measure smaller volumes of fluid within the barrel of the syringe and correspond to smaller doses of fluid. In contrast, zones appearing on the insert near the distal end of the plunger close to the stopper are used to measure larger volumes of fluid and correspond to larger doses.
Positioning the zones on the insert and orienting the insert inside the plunger of the syringe of the present invention eliminates the need to remove the syringe from the dosing container to read the volume of fluid present in the barrel or on the plunger. Rather than bringing the syringe to eye level, the dose amount is determined by aligning the dosing zone assigned to the patient with a flange or other reference mark located on the barrel. Provided that the healthcare provider correctly assigns and recalls the “color” of the patient, and then positions the plunger so that the dosing zone corresponding to that color is aligned with the reference line or flange on the barrel, the proper dose will be drawn into the barrel. Given the tremendous number of circumstances in which syringes are used to measure the correct dose of a medication and then accurately administer that dose to pediatric patients or other children, the present invention provides an effective way of enhancing the accuracy, reliability, cost-effectiveness and speed with which medical care may be provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a dosing syringe that reduces the amount of time required to determine and administer a dose of medication to a patient while simultaneously decreasing the risk that such dose will be miscalculated or otherwise erroneously administered.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dosing syringe that offers a cost-effective and expeditious method of administering doses of medication or other fluids to a patient.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dosing syringe that correlates preselected physiological values indicative of a range of medically-correct dosages with a predetermined range of colors or other indicia.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dosing syringe that eliminates the need to perform a multi-step mathematical calculation to arrive at a correct dose of medication for a pediatric patient.
It is another object of the invention to provide a dosing syringe having a color-coded dosing scale carried by the plunger instead of the barrel, which permits the quantity of medication being drawn into the syringe to be accurately measured and read without requiring that the tip of the syringe be removed from the container from which the medication is being withdrawn, and without otherwise obscuring visual access to the dosing scale.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in the preferred embodiments described below by providing a dosing syringe with a barrel defining a chamber therein for retaining fluid and including a dispensing port communicating with the chamber for permitting fluid flow therethrough. The dosing syringe includes a plunger for being matingly received within the chamber. The plunger is axially moveable relative to the barrel for controlling fluid flow through the dispensing port. A dosing indicator is removably carried by the plunger and includes indicia thereon collectively representing a dosing range of the fluid based upon a correlation between the indicia and a therapeutic treatment variable for a preselected group of patients. The indicia cooperate with the plunger and barrel for measuring a medically correct dose of the fluid to be administered to a patient from the group.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the dosing indicator is removably positioned within the plunger for permitting alternative uses of the syringe.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the indicia comprise preselected strips of color arranged in a fixed sequence on the dosing indicator.
According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the indicia is a r
Adams Evans P.A.
Casler Brian L.
Ghafoorian Roz
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