Surgery – Container for blood or body treating material – or means used... – Bag type
Patent
1989-03-17
1991-10-29
Hafer, Robert A.
Surgery
Container for blood or body treating material, or means used...
Bag type
604409, 604411, 604414, 206221, A61B 1900, B65D 2508
Patent
active
050612646
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatus for contacting material such as a drug with a fluid. It particularly relates to apparatus by means of which material can be contacted with a fluid in a closed system.
PCT Specification WO 85/03432 discloses a closed drug delivery system comprising a flexible container of fluid, a cup permanently coupled to the container, and a standard glass drug vial within the cup, which is permanently closed by a cap. The cap is deformable to urge the vial downwardly, whereby a spike at the end of a conduit leading into the container is urged into the vial. Thus liquid from the container can contact material in the vial.
This system has some disadvantages. It is a sealed unit, including the container of fluid and the vial of drug. Thus every possible combination of fluid and drug must be manufactured and stocked. A manufacturer who produces containers of fluid may not wish to involve himself with the cup portions and vials of drugs and in any case it would be desirable for the same containers to be usable in other manners.
It is desirable to sterilise the filled fluid container using steam, but steam sterilisation of the cup assembly can lead to problems. It is thus necessary to steam-sterilise only the filled container portion. This is then placed in a room with the remaining components, and they are all subjected to sterilisation using a sterilising gas. The unit is then assembled within the sterilising room. Not only is this double sterilisation inconvenient, but the usual sterilising gas, ethylene oxide, may become absorbed by or dissolved in plastics components. It may leak into the fluid. Even if this does not happen, it is necessary to leave the units in ventilated storage for some time so that gas that has been taken up or adsorbed can escape. Conventionally, medical articles are over-wrapped prior to sterilisation, but in this case only the container portion can be over-wrapped. Thus the cup portion may be contaminated during the steam sterilisation process and in subsequent handling.
The manufacture of a cup with a lid such that it can be used for pressing down a vial is relatively difficult and therefore expensive; and the operation of using the lid to press down a vial is not easy.
A given cup is only suitable for a single size and shape of vial.
The present invention enables one to ameliorate one or more of the above drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect the invention provides apparatus for use in establishing flow communication between the interior of a vial and the interior of a container, said apparatus comprising cup means for receiving a dispensing end portion of a vial, said cup means having a mouth portion through which said end portion of a vial is insertable and conduit means communicating the interior of the cup means with the exterior, said conduit means being communicable with a container to establish said flow communication; and locking means operable to retain a vial non-removably with said end portion inserted in the cup means, the vial's interior then being communicable with the interior of a container via said conduit means. The apparatus may include retainer means engageable with said cup means to retain a vial. The retainer and cup means may be mutually adapted to permit their irreversible connection to retain a vial non-removably. Thus there may be complementary engagement means on the retaining means (which may constitute a lid for the cup means) and on the cup so that mutual engagement of lid and cup urges a vial deeper into the container; the locking means may act to prevent their disengagement. These means can take various forms. A simple arrangement is for the lid and cup to have respective ones of a ratchet and detent means, arranged to be mutually engageable but not disengageable. Alternatively there may be complementary ribs that can be pushed past one another in one sense but not withdrawn. The engagement means may employ a thread within the cup. The lid may then have an external thread or thr
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Brown Michael
DRG Flexpak Limited
Hafer Robert A.
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