US2355620A

US2355620A - Fluid sampling device

Info

Publication number: US2355620A
Application number: US378708A
Authority: US
Inventors: John O Bower; John P Tarbox
Original assignee: FOUNDATION FOR CLINICAL AND SU
Current assignee: FOUNDATION FOR CLINICAL AND SU; FOUNDATION FOR CLINICAL AND SURGICAL RESEARCH
Priority date: 1941-02-05
Filing date: 1941-02-05
Publication date: 1944-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1961-08-15

Description

J. o. BOWER EIAL 7 2,355,620

FLUID SAMPLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5, 1941 INVENTORS.

John OBow er John D Tarbox ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1944 John '0. Bowerand John P.'Tarbox, Philadelphia, Pa., as'signors to'Foundation for Clinical and Surgical Research, Elriladelphia, Pa.,-a'corporat-ion of Pennsylvania Application February 5, 1941, Serial No. 378,708

(01. 73-421) This invention consistsof an apparatus for use i '4 Claims.

in connection with systems of stomach and .intestinal pumping, and a method of sampling the stomach contents or the like.

.It is the common practice'in the treating of stomach and intestinal disorders to .have the patient swallow a vacuum pump .tube, and therethrough to obtain one or more samples of the contents of the organor passage.

Where a plurality of samples are taken, the individual samples are obtained usually atstated intervals and successively examined. There has "been experienced some difiiculty in preserving the serial order of the samples so obtained, and in efiecting thorough-going comparative examinations of the successive specimens.

'In the treatment of intestinal obstructions in particular, the specimens are .obtainedjngreater number and over longer periods. It'has .been Tound'there is a great deal to belearned through orderly, timely, and appropriate comparison of thesamples, and that there is possible-a degree :of timeliness, order, and appropriateness of examination which has not heretofore been in- .dulged in.

One object of our invention is to :provide a method and apparatus through which greater accuracy in timing, full exactness in order and maintenance of order, and every appropriate xamination can be made.

Another and outstanding object of the inven- ::'ion is to attain a process through-which comparisons .of consistency and color can be simultaneously made between the ordered samples.

According to the method of the invention, we periodically take samples from the organ or passage, as the easel-may :be, separately preserve and identify these samples, preferably in succession in the order taken, through relative ordering and identification upon a common support, and arrange them in such form that they may be commonly illumined to the same degree whereby the consistency and color comparisons can be accurately made.

The apparatus devised for this purpose comprises a vacuum conduit having a break therein adapted to be closed by a removable and replaceable vacuum chamber, together with a relatively movable support for a plurality of sampling containers adapted to support the sampling containers successively in such juxtaposition to said break as to receive and retain sample discharges from the break when discharges are passed therethrough by vacuum-maintained force, together with mechanism for relatively progressively moving the said support with respect to said section of the vacuum conduit to bring about and to destroy suchjuxtaposition of the sampling containers successively, the support being such as to permit or effect uniform and adequate il- -lumination of the containers simultaneously.

In the accompanying drawing is shown one embodiment of our invention, that which is best known to us.

Referring to .the drawing:

Figure 11 .is' a vertical section of one form of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same with the apparatus cover and support for the vacuum conduit partly removed to show the interior arrangement. a v

In these several views like parts are provided \vithlike reference numerals.

10 .is the vacuum conduit having therein a break adapted to be closed by a removable and replaceable vacuum chamber 1 I. This is in the 'form of a trans-parent glass bell-jar. The break in the vacuum conduit therein .is designated 12. The vacuum conduit comprises two branches, the one 13 leading to a suitable pump or other source of vacuum in thedirection of the arrow, and .the other H! leading or adapted to be led from the stomach or other organ of the body from which it is desired to extract samples. These conduits are in the form of rubber tubes terminated respectively in glass tubes [5 and I6 which enter the vacuum chamber ll through a rubber stopper [7. One of these glass tubes Hi and L5, -preferably the tube I 5, the terminus ;of the branch- 14, l is passed axially of the stopper Hand of the vacuum chamber II, and then turnedradially outwardly and downwardly to discharge into containers l9, arranged in an annular series about the axis of the container II and the tube l6.

Also, entering the chamber ll alongside of the tubes l5 and i6, is a manometer tube 35 for the indication of the degree of vacuum employed.

The passage of tube It through the stopper I1 is through a ferrule 20 provided at its upper end with a stuffing box, and the tube I6 is provided with a small hand-clamp 2| by means of which it may be rotated in the ferrule 20. Furthermore, the top 22 of the vacuum chamber H is not only removable and replaceable to permit placement and removal of the annular series of conta ners I9 therein, but also rotatable on the body I I. Thus either through rotation of the tube 15 to bring its discharge end l8 into juxta- 55 position to one or another of the containers [9,

or through rotation of one or the other of the cover and the body 22, II (the one also to move the discharge end I8, and the other to relatively move the containers I9)-relative progressive movement between the support for the containers I9 (constituted by the body II of the chamber) and the vacuum conduit I and the break therein I2, is achieved to the end of bringing about and destroying juxtaposition of the sampling containers successively to the discharge end I8 and the break I2 in the vacuum conduit. Thereby the successively-taken sample discharges may be received and retained by successive containers I9 of the annular series.

The joint 33 between the cover 22 and the body I I of the bell-jar, is generally of plain form to make an air-tight fit when the faces are ground as usual. In order, however, to insure concentricity of relative rotational movement of cover 22, the ground faces may be provided with an over-hanging flange 34 or other form of axial alignment means.

The containers I9 are in the form of glass beakers or ordinary water glasses. They are numbered in the order of succession in the series, for example, I to B (the numbers I and 4 appear in Fig. 1). They are carried within the chamber I I in the form of device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 upon a unitary tray 23 provided with equiangularly spaced depressions 24 to receive the bottoms of the containers I9 and retain them in position, with their axes approximately vertically below the arc of travel of the discharge end I8 of the vacuum conduit, and a short distance samples while yet within the clear-glass chamher I I. This lamp is introduced by screw-threading or otherwise securing an appropriate lamp socket base 29 within the reentrant walls. Through removal of the base the standard lamp bulb may be removed and replaced or renewed. The lamp cord 30 leads to the base beneath the chamber II, which latter is provided with feet 3| spacing it from the table or other foundation 32 upon which it may be rested, to permit access of the cord 30 to the lamp. By reason of the axial symmetry of the lamp, and the annular series of containers I9, there is provided through the transparent glass walls of the containers and the chamber I I, perfect uniformity of illumination of all of the samples which may be taken.

The apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 has the advantage of completeness and continuous sealed coverage of the samples during the period of their taking and examination.

While there has been described but one embodiment of the invention, obviously the invention is susceptible to yet other embodiments irrespective of the circumstantial terminology of the appended claims. We intend to cover all embodiments and modifications thereof in which there are to be found those elements of the generic spirit of my invention which characterize the several features thereof.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus of the type described comprising a vacuum chamber formed of separable body and cap members, outlet and inlet conduits penetrating and supported by said cap member, said inlet conduit being centrally and rotatably positioned in said cap member and having a radially extending nozzle section adapted to supply -fluid to plural containers concentrically arranged in said body member. a

2. Apparatus of the type described comprising a transparent vacuum chamber formed of separable body and cap members, outlet and inlet conduits penetrating and supported by said cap member, said inlet conduit being centrally and rotatably positioned in said cap member and having a radially extending nozzle section adapted to supply fluid to plural containers concentrically arranged in said body member, and said body member having a re-entrant base projection wherein a lamp may be removably inserted.

3. Apparatus of the type described comprising a vacuum chamber formed of separable body and cap members, outlet and inlet conduits penetrating and supported by said cap member, said .inlet conduit being centrally and'rotatably positioned in said cap member and having a radially extending nozzle section adapted to supply fluid to plural containers concentrically arranged in said body member, and means for holding said containers in predetermined position within. said chamber body member.

4. In a vacuum chamber having cap and body members, the cap member having inlet andoutlet conduits and the body member a base witha re-entrant central projection, a support for plural containers comprising an annular plate with container receiving recesses sequentially formed therein and a central bail attached to overliesaid body base projection, said bail being extensible to a point above said body section.

JOHN o. BOWER. JOHN P. TARBOX.