Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-09
2001-11-13
Mendez, Manuel (Department: 3763)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315760
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a syringe for drawing fluid into or expressing fluid from a barrel wherein the barrel has a coating forming a background enabling writing to be applied directly to the barrel using common ordinary writing instruments and facilitating reading the index markings on the barrel.
BACKGROUND
As well known, particularly in the medical field, a syringe comprises an elongated barrel typically formed of transparent material and having a cannula, e.g., a metal or plastic needle, adjacent one end for transmission of fluid into and out of the syringe barrel and a plunger disposed in the barrel and extending through its opposite end. By translating the plunger relative to the barrel, fluid may be drawn into the barrel, for example, from a medication vial or from a patient when drawing blood, or fluid may be expressed from the barrel through the cannula into another medical device or a patient. The barrel of the syringe typically has index markings along one side. The index markings serve to indicate the quantity of fluid within the barrel.
It is not uncommon in medical practice, particularly in an emergency room, operating room or intensive care unit, for patients to be simultaneously receiving a number of different drugs for treatment in an acute situation. Those drugs could include painkillers, psychotropic drugs, heart medications, medications to influence blood pressure, respiration or other physiological aspects. In the acute care situation, these drugs are frequently titrated according to the patient's needs. That is, sequential aliquots of medication are given, often intravenously, through an IV line. The effects are monitored and additional medication given within a short time period if the desired effect is not achieved.
Consequently, there frequently are a number of medical syringes containing different medications all “in use” close to the patient's bedside. Currently, there is no easy method of identifying or making these syringes with useful information, e.g., relating them to their content or to a particular patient, or both. In certain circumstances, indelible marking pens which are not commonplace and are expensive are used to write on the plastic. Alternatively, medical practitioners sometimes apply strips of white tape to the syringe to enable writing to be placed on the strip thereby providing the needed information such as an identification of the medication or the patient, or both or other information. Current syringes are therefore not readily receptive to writing with common ordinary writing instruments and additional measures are typically implemented, for example, applying tape to the syringe barrel to permit writing on the syringes.
Further, while the index markings on a syringe are typically black and may be read against the backgrounds seen through the transparent plastic material forming the syringe barrel, reading the index markings and the level of fluid in the syringe barrel is sometimes difficult, particularly against dark environmental backgrounds. It is therefore difficult with certain background environments to ascertain the quantity of the fluid in the syringe. Accordingly, there is a need for a medical syringe on which writing may be easily applied using ordinary and common writing instruments such as readily available ballpoint pens without the application of ancillary materials to the syringes, as well as a syringe which will facilitate the reading of the index markings on the barrel and hence the quantity of fluid in the barrel.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a colored coating is applied to the syringe barrel during manufacture of the barrel and therefore forms an integral part of the syringe barrel. The colored coating is preferably a white UV-cured ink-receptive coating applied to the external surface of the barrel in the form of a strip, for example, by a silkscreening process during manufacture. The strip may be applied along the barrel at any location and has a quality and sufficient extent to permit writing to be applied directly to the strip using common writing implements, for example, to identify the fluid within the barrel, a patient, a time for using the syringe, or the like. Particularly, the ink-receptive coating can be applied adjacent the plunger end of the barrel, about the entire circumference of the barrel except where index markings are applied or only partially about the entire circumference of the barrel. This affords sufficient writing area on which the medical practitioner may write using a common writing instrument, such as a ballpoint pen, to provide the necessary information. Alternatively or additionally, the ink-receptive coating may be applied in the form of an elongated strip along the side of the barrel diametrically opposite the index markings. In this form, it will be appreciated that the white strip has a length greater than its width and extends a distance about the barrel approximately one-half of the barrel's circumference. Thus, depending upon the size of the syringe, two or three lines of writing can be applied directly to the integrally formed strip.
The application of a white ink-receptive strip on the side of the barrel opposite the index markings also has other significant beneficial advantages. The placement of the strip opposite the index markings facilitates reading those markings by providing a contrasting background against which the markings are read. Thus, the index markings which are typically black and the fluid level may be read against a background, preferably white in color, thereby affording a significant improvement in the ability to read the index markings. It will also be appreciated that the nature of the coating is consistent with the requirement for a biocompatible, non-toxic compound on a medical syringe.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a syringe comprising an elongated syringe barrel formed of a transparent material, a cannula adjacent one end of the barrel for transmission of fluid into or out of the barrel, a plunger disposed in the barrel and extending through an opposite end of the barrel from one end, index markings along one side of the barrel and a colored coating along is another side of the barrel opposite one side and integrally formed on the barrel, the colored coating forming a background contrasting with the index markings to facilitate reading the index markings from one side of the barrel against the contrasting background.
In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a syringe comprising an elongated syringe barrel formed of a transparent plastic material, a cannula adjacent one end of the barrel for transmission of fluid into or out of the barrel, a plunger disposed in the barrel and extending through an opposite end of the barrel from one end, index markings along one side of the barrel, an ink-receptive colored coating along a side of the barrel, integrally formed on an external surface of the barrel, and contrasting with the transparent plastic material, the coating being receptive to inks enabling writing on the coating on the barrel.
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Inviro Medical Devices Ltd.
Mendez Manuel
Nixon & Vanderhye
LandOfFree
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