Surgery – Container for blood or body treating material – or means used... – Having hollow needle or spike for piercing container or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-02
2003-06-24
Sykes, Angela D. (Department: 3762)
Surgery
Container for blood or body treating material, or means used...
Having hollow needle or spike for piercing container or...
C604S414000, C137S614040
Reexamination Certificate
active
06582415
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to the delivery of a beneficial agent to a patient. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved device for reconstituting a beneficial agent to be delivered to a patient.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many drugs are unstable even for a short period of time in a dissolved state and therefore are packaged, stored, and shipped in a powdered or lyophilized state to increase their shelf life. In order for powdered drugs to be given intravenously to a patient, the drugs must first be placed in liquid form. To this end, these drugs are mixed or reconstituted with a diluent before being delivered intravenously to a patient. The diluents may be, for example, a dextrose solution, a saline solution, or even water. Typically the drugs are stored in powdered form in glass vials or ampules.
Other drugs, although in a liquid state, must still be diluted before administering to a patient. For example, some chemotherapy drugs are stored in glass vials or ampules, in a liquid state, but must be diluted prior to use. As used herein, reconstitution means to place the powdered drug in a liquid state, as well as, the dilution of a liquid drug.
The reconstitution procedure should be performed under sterile conditions. In some procedures for reconstituting, maintaining sterile conditions is difficult. Moreover, some drugs, such as chemotherapy drugs, are toxic and exposure to the medical personnel during the reconstitution procedure can be dangerous. One way of reconstituting a powdered drug is to inject the liquid diluent directly into the drug vial. This can be performed by use of a combination-syringe and syringe needle having diluent therein. In this regard, drug vials typically include a pierceable rubber stopper. The rubber stopper of the drug vial is pierced by the needle, and liquid in the syringe is then injected into the vial. The vial is shaken to mix the powdered drug with the liquid. After the liquid and drug are mixed, a measured amount of the reconstituted drug is then drawn into the syringe. The syringe is then withdrawn from the vial and the drug can then be injected into the patient. Another method of drug administration is to inject the reconstituted drug, contained in the syringe, into a parenteral solution container. Examples of such containers include a MINI-BAG™ flexible parenteral solution container or VIAFLEX® flexible parenteral solution container sold by Baxter Healthcare Corporation of Deerfield, Ill. These parenteral solution containers may already have therein dextrose or saline solutions. The reconstituted drug is injected into the container, mixed with the solution in the parenteral solution container and delivered through an intravenous solution administration set to a vein access site of the patient.
Another method for reconstituting a powdered drug utilizes a reconstitution device sold by Baxter Healthcare Corporation, product code No. 2B8064. That device includes a double pointed needle and guide tubes mounted around both ends of the needle. This reconstitution device is utilized to place the drug vial in fluid communication with a flexible-walled parenteral solution container. Once the connection is made by piercing a port of the flexible container with one end of the needle and the vial stopper with the other end of the needle, liquid in the solution container may be forced through the needle into the drug vial by squeezing the sidewalls of the solution container. The vial is then shaken to mix the liquid and drug. The liquid in the vial is withdrawn by squeezing air from the solution container into the vial. When compression of the flexible walled solution container is stopped, the pressurized air in the vial acts as a pump to force the liquid in the vial back into the solution container.
An improvement to this product is the subject of commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,671 to Aalto et al. The device of the '671 patent includes a series of bumps on the inside of a sheath to grip a drug vial. These bumps hinder the inadvertent disconnection of the device with the vial.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,756 discloses a reconstitution device which, in an embodiment, includes an improved vial adaptor and bag adaptor that permit the permanent coupling of a vial and liquid container. The bag adaptor is rotatable relative to the vial adaptor to either block fluid communication in a first position or effect fluid communication in a second position.
Another form of reconstitution device is seen in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,073 to Quick et al. Yet another type of reconstitution device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,802 to Curley et al., entitled “Wet-Dry Syringe Package” which includes a vial adaptor having inwardly directed retaining projections to firmly grip the retaining cap lip of a drug vial to secure the vial to the vial adaptor. The package disclosed by Curley et al. is directed to reconstituting a drug by use of a liquid-filled syringe.
Other methods for reconstituting a drug are shown, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,321 to Pearson et al., entitled “Close Drug Delivery System”; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,411,662 and 4,432,755 to Pearson, both entitled “Sterile Coupling”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,733 to Lyons entitled “Mixing Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,209 to Zdeb entitled “Sliding Reconstitution Device With Seal.”
Other related patents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,867 to Kilinger entitled “Wet-Dry Additive Assembly”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,329 to Kilinger entitled “Compact Syringe”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,261 to Kilinger entitled “Vial and Syringe Assembly”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,260 to Kilinger entitled “Vial and Syringe Combination”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,369 to Kilinger entitled “Apparatus for Transferring Liquid Between a Container and a Flexible Bag”; and German specification DE OS 36 27 231.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,209 to Zdeb (the '209 Patent), discloses a sliding reconstitution device which solved some of the problems discussed above. For example, the connector allowed for preattaching the device to a vial without piercing a closure of the vial. However, no seal was provided on the opposite end of the connector so the vial and device assembly had to be used immediately after connection or stored in a sterile environment, such as under a hood.
The '209 Patent discloses a first sleeve member that is mounted concentrically about a second sleeve member. The sleeve members can be moved axially with respect to each other to cause a needle or cannula to pierce a drug container and a diluent container to place the containers in fluid communication with each other.
The process for using the '209 connector required three distinct steps. The sleeves had to be rotated with respect to one another to move the device into an unlocked position. The sleeves were then moved axially with respect to one another to an activated position to pierce closures of the containers. The sleeves had to be rotated again to lock the sleeves in the activated position.
However, it is possible for the device of the '209 Patent to be easily and inadvertently disassembled when being moved to the activated position. The second sleeve is capable of sliding entirely though the first sleeve member and becoming disassociated into separate parts. This would require the medical personnel to either reassemble the device or dispose of it due to contamination.
Also, the device of the '209 Patent did not provide for a visual indication that the device was in the activated position. It was also possible for the device to be inadvertently moved to the inactivated position, by rotating the first and second sleeve members in a direction opposite of the third step described above.
Additionally, it was possible for the second container, which is frequently a vial, to rotate within the device. This could cause coring of the vial stopper which could lead to leakage of the vial stopper. Additionally it was possible for a vial to be misaligned while being attached to the device causi
Fowles Thomas A.
Weinberg Robert J.
Deak Leslie R
Nykaza Paul J.
Sykes Angela D.
Wallenstein & Wagner
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