Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-15
2001-05-08
Seidel, Richard K. (Department: 3734)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
C604S525000, C604S177000, C604S905000, C128S912000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06228073
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains generally to connector hubs for medical catheters. More particularly, the present invention pertains to connector hubs which are used to establish fluid communication between an interventional medical catheter and an extracorporeal medical device. The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, useful for providing tactile control for a physician during the positioning and use of the medical catheter during a clinical procedure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The general purpose of a luer hub is to connect a catheter to some mating piece of equipment such as a syringe, a power injection tube or a manifold. It happens, however, that the luer hub is also used by physicians to control the positioning of the catheter as it is being advanced into the vasculature of a patient. In order for the physician to properly control the catheter during such an advancement, it is necessary to subject the catheter to both axial and rotational forces. A major concern in all of this is that, while the forces which are exerted on the catheter must provide for the desired degree of catheter flexibility and operational control, they can not be allowed to cause the catheter to kink or otherwise become inoperative.
Various types of connecting hubs have been proposed for specialized uses with various types of catheters. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,893, which issued to Bodicky for an invention entitled “Infusion Apparatus,” discloses an intravenous catheter placement device which includes a hub that is attached directly to a rigid cannula. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,481, which issued to Higgins for an invention entitled “Catheter with Coiled Wire Attachment,” discloses a wire having a coiled proximal end that is positioned in a hub, and an elongated distal end which extends from the hub through the PTCA catheter. The wire in this case is used for steering control over the catheter by rotation of the hub. In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,647, which issued to Wijkamp et al. for an invention entitled “Catheter with a Strain Relief Member,” discloses a tubular shaped strain relief member which extends distally from the hub and over a short portion of the catheter. None of these examples, however, teach or suggest a hub and strain relief element which are formed, in combination, as an integral unit, and which provide for a progressive transition from the relative rigidity of the hub to the flexure required by the associated catheter. More recently, however, efforts have been made to address this issue. For example, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/021,682, and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/046,241, which are each assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, both disclose spiral strain relief elements which are designed to provide such a transition, albeit with different structure than disclosed herein for the present invention.
An angiographic catheter, due to the nature of its specific function, can be designed to have a relatively small diameter. Hence, in comparison with infusion catheters, such as PTCA catheters and atherectomy catheters which often require relatively large diameters, the angiographic catheter and other small diameter catheters are particularly susceptible to kinking. It often happens that this problem is most pronounced near the hub where control forces are imparted by the physician to control movement of the catheter into a patients vasculature.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector hub which provides the physician with control and sensitivity during the placement of a catheter into the vasculature of a patient. It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector hub for a catheter which will provide for a progressive transition from the relative rigidity of the hub to the flexure required by the catheter. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a connector hub for a catheter which presents the hub and a strain relief element as an integral unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector hub for a catheter which is ergonomically efficient in providing a physician with control structure for rotating and advancing the catheter into the vasculature of a patient. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a connector hub for a catheter which is easy to manufacture, relatively simple to use and comparatively cost effective.
SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A luer connecting hub for interconnecting a catheter in fluid communication with a piece of medical equipment includes a substantially tubular shaped body member which is formed with a bore that extends longitudinally through the body member. The outer surface of the body member is formed with a plurality of longitudinally oriented grips, and proximal to the grips there are a pair of diametrically opposed wings, or lobes, which extend outwardly from the body member. The proximal end of the body member is formed as a female luer fitting for engaging a medical device, such as a syringe or a manifold, in fluid communication with the bore of the body member.
Extending from the distal end of the connecting hub is an integral strain relief element which is formed as an articulated spiral having a plurality of segmented turns. More specifically, the spiral shaped strain relief element establishes a passageway for receiving a catheter tube therethrough. Thus, when the proximal end of the catheter tube is connected to the distal end of the bore, through the body member of the hub, the spiral shaped strain relief element will surround and support a proximal portion of the catheter tube.
With this combination of structure, the spiral strain relief element is able to bend in a controlled manner to provide a progressive transition from the relative stiffness imposed by the hub on the catheter tube to the full flexure capability of the catheter tube. Importantly, this progressive transition avoids unwanted and undesirable kinking in the proximal portion of the catheter tube near the luer hub.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3721231 (1973-03-01), Hubert
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patent: 4875481 (1989-10-01), Higgins
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Mar. 1994 USCI Product Catalog and Price List, p. 5-22.
Two photographs (one color and one black and white) of SciMed Maxxum Manifold; the date and origination of this reference is unknown. The existence of this reference prior to the application filing date of Dec. 15, 1998, is acknowledged. A prototype will be furnished upon request.
Photograph Of SciMed ST 55 CM Guiding Catheter (806 E01777);. The existence of this reference prior to the application filing date of Dec. 15, 1998, is acknowledged. A prototype will be furnished upon request.
Marketing literature for the SciMed Maxxum, PTCA Dilation Catheter, Instructions for Use, 6 pages, (8½×11) dated Aug., 1996.
Adams Bruce
Fay-Lauria Cheryl
Noone Michael S.
Medtronic Inc.
Seidel Richard K.
Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.
Thanh L.
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