Other

Phase Medical, Inc.

John C Kulli

Thomas Mitchell

Arthur E Brown

A small protective guard rides on the shaft of a needle. After the needle has been inserted into a patient to deliver or withdraw fluids, the guard is positioned to form a protective barrier crossing in front of the needle tip. The guard is fashioned to collapse inward in front of the tip when its front portion is advanced past the needle tip. The guard carries sharp blades that engage the needle shaft and prevent the guard from moving forward off the needle once the device is activated. An optional manually operated trigger mechanism deploys the guard automatically.

Medical needle puncture guard

A hollow needle projects from the 'forward' end of a syringe barrel or an adjacent auxiliary retraction barrel. After use to inject or withdraw liquid from a patient, the needle is released from the end of the barrel and retracted into the barrel. The barrel has an aperture big enough for the needle but too small for fingertips. The needle rides in a carrier block that slides in the barrel. Initially a manually releasable latch secures the block in the barrel against the forward end, with the sharp end of the needle protruding out through the aperture. The latch includes mutually interfering stop elements on the exterior of the block and interior of the barrel. After the injection or withdrawal of liquid, the person using the device withdraws the needle from the patient and manually triggers the latch by manipulating the plunger. A coiled spring drives the block rearward to retract the needle into the barrel. At the rear end of the barrel a stop halts the carrier block and needle to safely confine them. If no auxiliary barrel is present, the plunger is relieved to allow retention of the needle in the syringe, while the plunger is fully forward, to minimize bulk after retraction. In another form of the invention the front end of the plunger engages the rear end of the needle or carrier; pulling the plunger rearward pulls the needle into the syringe.

Syringe with safety retracting needle

A hollow needle projects from the forward end of a needle holder. The needle has a permanently attached ferrule, which is circumferentially grooved. The holder includes a handle to be grasped by a user, a frontal leaved structure for gripping the needle ferrule at its groove, and a rearward skirt for guarding the rear end of the needle. The rear of the needle is accessible within the skirt for attachment to vacuum vials, or to tubing for conducting liquid from the patient to a remote storage vessel. After use to withdraw liquid from a patient, the needle is released from the handle and retracted. The release and retraction are manually actuated by a simple unitary rectilinear motion. Preferably the mechanism for initiating release and retraction includes a separate safety container that is inserted into the rear skirt of the holder in the same manner as a vacuum vial, but that receives and encloses the entire needle for disposal. This separate safety container carries at its forward end a fitting for manipulating the frontal structure of the holder to spread the leaves, extracting them from the groove in the ferrule and thereby releasing the needle; and also a rearward-spring-biased retractor for engaging the needle and drawing it into the safety container.

Phlebotomy set with safety retracting needle

A hollow needle projects from the 'forward' end of a hollow handle. A syringe communicates with the interior of the needle by way of the hollow handle. After use for passing liquid between the syringe and a patient's body, the needle is released from the handle and its sharp end retracted into the handle, beyond reach. The handle has an aperture big enough for the needle but not for fingertips. The needle rides in a carrier block that slides inside the handle. Initially the block is secured in the handle against the forward end, with the sharp end of the needle protruding out through the aperture. A manually releasable latch holds the block in this position. The latch includes mutually interfering stop elements on the exterior of the block and interior of the handle. After liquid is injected into or withdrawn from the patient's body, the person using the device withdraws the needle from the patient and manually triggers the carrier-block latch by squeezing or rotating one stop element out of engagement with the other. Then a coiled spring drives the block rearward to retract the needle into the handle. At the rear of the handle a stop halts the block and needle to safely confine them within the handle. A standard-size fitting on the rear of the handle permits liquid flow between the patient and a standard syringe with a standard front fitting.

Safety retracting needle for use with syringe

A drug dosage calculation system includes a hand held, battery operated computing device for use by nurses and other clinical personnel to make calculations pertaining to the drug administration rate and the corresponding flow rate settings of IV systems that are used for intravenous administration of fluids to a patient. Flow rate setting, drug dose rate, drug amount and the amount of IV solution into which the drug is diluted are the primary variables used in such calculations. A keyboard is used to supply data to a computation device that computes the unknown quantity. A display device displays the data input to the computer and also displays data calculated for the unknown variable.

Drug dose rate calculator

A cannula insertion needle projects from the 'forward' end of a hollow handle. After use to start a cannula, the needle is released from the end of the handle and its sharp end retracted into the handle, beyond reach. Preferably the handle has an aperture big enough for the needle but too small for fingertips. In one preferred form of the invention, the needle rides in a carrier block that slides inside the handle. Initially the block is secured in the handle against the forward end, with the sharp end of the needle protruding outward through the aperture. A manually releasable latch holds the block in this position. The latch mechanism includes mutually interfering stop elements on the exterior of the block and interior of the handle. After the cannula is in place, the person using the device withdraws the needle from the patient and manually triggers the carrier-block latch by squeezing or rotating one of the stop elements out of engagement with the other. Then a coiled spring drives the block rearward to retract the needle into the handle. At the rear end of the handle a stop halts the carrier block and needle so that they are safely confined within the handle. A standard-size tube fitting on the rear of the handle and a hollow needle permit liquid flow to or from the patient through the handle temporarily.

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South Pasadena, CA, United States of America

John C Kulli