Thomas Medical Products, Inc.

David G Catlin

Andrew W Armour

Joseph J Thomas

Robert W Thomas

Apparatus for introducing a catheter percutaneously into the body of a living being. The apparatus comprises a tubular member having a distal end portion and a proximal end portion. The proximal end portion is in the form of a hollow housing for a hemostatic valve assembly comprising a lubricant reservoir and a valve element. The reservoir is formed of a foam material impregnated with a lubricant liquid, e.g., silicone. The valve element is a disk-like member formed of resilient material, e.g., silicone impregnated with polydimethylsiloxane, located distally of the reservoir and has a openable passageway extending through it for the catheter to pass. The reservoir applies the lubricating fluid-in a controlled manner onto the catheter as it is passed through it, to thereby facilitate the passage of the catheter through the openable passageway in the valve element. The hollow housing is arranged to produce peripheral pressure on the valve element to facilitate its closure.

Catheter introducer with lubrication means

A needleless device for introducing or withdrawing a fluid to/from the vascular system of a being. The device includes first and second housing sections movably connected with respect to each other and which define a hollow interior in which a pair of resilient valve elements are located. The first housing section includes a first luer fitting for connection to an input line. The second housing section includes a second luer fitting for connection to an output line. A tubular plunger is located within the device and is arranged, when the housing sections are in a first position, to be automatically extended through a first valve element if the input line is connected to the first luer fitting, so that a liquid can be forced from the input line through the device to the output line. When the housing sections are in the first position and the input line disconnected from the first luer fitting, the tubular plunger is retracted out of both valve elements so that the device is fully occluded. The housing sections are movable to a second position with the input line connected to the first luer fitting, whereupon the tubular plunger is extended through both valve elements to provide free fluid communication between the input and output lines.

Needleless introducer with hemostatic valve

A Y-connector including a hemostatic valve for enabling the introduction of an elongated member, e.g., a balloon catheter, into the body of a living being while precluding blood from flowing out of the valve. The Y-connector includes a housing having an interior in which a pair of resilient valve elements and a plunger mechanism are located. One valve element, e.g., a disk-like member, has a small diameter opening therein. The other valve element, e.g., a duck-bill valve elements, includes a normally closed, but openable, aperture therein. The plunger mechanism includes a tubular member having an outer diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the opening in the one valve element. The tubular member is arranged to be moved into and out of the opening in the one valve member and into and out of the aperture in the other valve element. The tubular member has a central passageway arranged to enable the elongated member to be readily extended therethrough for location at a desired position within the body of the being. The one valve element is arranged for engaging the periphery of the elongated member after the elongated member has been extended through the passageway and after the tubular member is moved out of the opening in the valve member to preclude blood from flowing through the interface between the valve member and the elongated member.

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West Chester, PA, United States of America

David G Catlin