US2682268A - Venoclysis equipment - Google Patents

Description

June 29, 1954 Filed Aug. 8, 1950 G. R. RYAN ET AL VENOCLYSIS EQUIPMENT 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. 07 eZP rm e gzy June 29, 1954 G. R. RYAN ETAL 2,682,268

VENOCLYSIS EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 29, 1954 G. R. RYAN ETAL vENocLYsIs EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug'. 8, 1950 Patented June 29, 1954 VENOCLYSIS EQUIPMENT George R. Ryan, David W. Abel, and Robert F. McGrew, Waukegan, Ill., assignors to Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 8, 1950, Serial No. 178,208

(Cl. 12B- 214) 10 Claims.

This invention relates to venoclysis equipment, and more particularly to medicinal containers adapted to be connected directly into a venoclysis set up.

Included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is a container for powdered or granular substances useful in treating or conditioning parenteral fluids, which container is adapted lto be connected directly to the tubing oi the venoclysis set up. l

The invention is especially useful in the art of human blood collection, where it may be desirable to treat the withdrawn blood with solid anticoagulants, ion exchange resins, and the like. In this application, a container, according to the invention, is connected into the blood-withdrawal tubing, whereby the blood from the donor passes through the container and is, therefore, in intimate contact with the solid content of the container, so that the blood is treated prior to entry into a storage vessel.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the novel portion of equipment according to the invention, in vertical position; l

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure l, with the parts disposed horizontally;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section in the` plane of the section of Figure 1, indicating the modified end seal;

Figure 4 is a section of a glass treatment chamber;

Figure 5 is a section of a modified lter arrangement involving reduced clearance spaces;

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic fragmentary section as on line I-'I of Figure 8, indicating a screen construction;

Figure 8 is aplan view looking down on the parts shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a section of a laboratory unit;

Figure 10 is a section of a modified lter arrangement involving a different type of lter; and

Figure 11 is a section of a modified detail of the iilter arrangement of Figure 10.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration in Figures 1 and 2, the chamber proper is defined by a main barrel I0 of resilient flexible plastic of any well-known type, having slight resistance to distortion by flexure. At each end cf the chamber the barrel I0 is closed by a reticulated screen I2, adapted to hold a granular treatment material I4 in place.

Suitable end connections are provided, in the nature of nipples I6 at both ends. The large ends of the nipples are telescoped with the barrel I0, and the smal ends forming end neck portions are provided with lengths of tubing I8 having standard tapered or Luer ttings 20 at their ends. It may be advantageous to have at least one of the end neck portions of nipples I6 or the tubular sections I8, which may function as the inlet to the chamber continuing in an outwardly extending direction as by means of a short length of resilient tubing, so that blood leaving the body of the donor gets into the treatment material I4 within a matter of seconds after it leaves its natural environment.

As will be apparent upon reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the granular lling I4 occupies volume between said end lters to such an extent as to maintain the shape of said body during shipping or handling but does not quite ll the barrel I0 so that no compressive force on the mass of granular material is developed by peripheral tension in the material of the barrel. Thus a small clearance space, about 2% of the resin volume as indicated at 22 in Figure 1 and 23 in Figure 2, will be present when the device rests on end or on its side. This enables the user to grasp the device with the fingers and flatten `it to make its minor diameter only half or two-thirds of its major diameter, and in this condition to roll it between the fingers so that the granules of the -material are thoroughly loosened in case they happen to adhere to each other. The handling incident to assembly tends to accomplish this automatically.

In the unit of Figure 1, the Wall thickness of the nipples I6 where they telescope over the barrel IU, is substantially constant. The screens I2 which are disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of the said end necks of the nipples I6 are Woven of plastic thread such as nylon, and may be asembled with the barrel IIJ expeditiously by juxtaposing the parts 'and making a momentary application of gentle heat to the juxtaposed edge portions. One screen may be put in place and the filling poured in at the other open end, and the other screen laid over the end still open and then sealed. Then the nipples I6 are similarly placed in position and sealed, either before or after the tubing I8 is slipped in and sealed to the nipple. Any or all of these joints may also be formed by dipping one or both of the parts in a solvent for the plastic employed, afterwhich the parts are merely juxtaposed and let stand until the solvent is dissipated.

Such a construction as that illustrated in Figure 1 is suitable under many conditions of service, but for use in the field, or where unusually strenuous mechanical manipulations may be encountered, the construction of Figure 3 may be employed. The nipple 24 oi Figure 3 differs from the nipples I6 in being formed with a little extra material to define a shoulder 26 so that the screen I2 can be clamped between the shoulder 28 and the end of the barrel I8, and the heat or solvent develops a much stronger mechanical bond.

Where conditions of service or available supplies call for the use of glass instead of plastic for the barrel, a glass tube 28 (Figure 4) may be equipped with rubber Stoppers 38 at both ends. Each stopper has a thin central portion at 32 to facilitate the entrance of a cannula 34. The peripheral cup-shaped wall 36 extends a substantial distance axially along the tube 28, and the screen 3S is o1 stainless steel wire. Under service conditions where equipment of this type is preferable, the engagement or" the edge of the screen 88 with the tube 28, combined with the pressure oi the iilling I4 and abutment with the adjacent edges of the wall 38, provide a reliable construction in which the screen 38 will stay in place. The iirmness oi attachment between the end plug 38 and the barrel 28 may be increased by adding the outer lip 481 telescoped over the outer surface oi the barrel.

In the embodiment of Figure 5, the barrel 42 may be the full equivalent of the barrel i8 of Figure l. At one end it has a tapered conical portion 44, integral with the barrel 42 and ending in a neck 4G receiving the tubing I8. At the other end a substantially duplicate conical portion 48 is formed in a separate piece and telescoped at 58 with the barrel 42. The screens 52 and 54 may be of woven plastic, treated as in Figure l, but

they can be assembled at the small ends of the conical portions 44 and 48. Thus the unit of Figure 5 is assembled as follows: first, the screen 52 is pushed into place in the small end of the cone 44 and sealed in by heat or solvent. In pushing it into place, a narrow edge portion indicated at 58 may be turned against the cone 44 to secure a better seal. The nipple 48 is similarly assembled with its screen 54. The barrel 42 is positioned with the screen 52 lowermost, and poured completeiy ull orn loose plastic granules I4, with the granules piled up on top of the open end of the lbarrel. The nipple 48 is moved downwardly into place over the piled-up granules, and the portion 58 is sealed to the barrel. This leaves a relatively small clearance space, somewhat less than the interior of the conical portion 48, from the screen 54 down to the dotted line 58.

As compared with the assembly of Figure l, the assembly of Figure 5 may be capable of withstanding a little more mechanical abuse, and it can be so proportioned that a flow of liquid coming into the tubing I8 is quite likely to scavenge practically all the air in the system as it works its way through.

Many of the `granular materials used to treat fresh, whole blood are available in particles of highly irregular shapes. For such particles, any foraminated barrier, such as a thin sheet of stainless steel or plastic with circular orifices punched in it, functions Very well. It is assumed that the granular material is devoid of fines and that the orifices are smaller than the smallest of the granules. However, in certain instances, it may be desirable to employ substantially spherical granules.

Under such circumstances a sheet of material with circular orifices would be very likely to accumulate a spherical granule held in place as a plug over each circular orifice, and thus interrupt the flow.

The screen of Figures 7' and 8 may be employed for elements I2, 52 and 54 of the complete combination and is made up of woven plastic threads 88 in a square mesh. The contact points indicated at 82 in Figures 7 and 8 may be united, either by simple heat and pressure or by application of a little solvent, so that, in the finished fabric, there is a weld or material mechanical strength at each intersection 62.

in Figures 7 and 8 there is indicated in dotted lines a spherical granule 64 of minimum size and a granule 66 of greater size. It will be apparent that, whereas a barrier with circular apertures might easily develop aseal that would materially obstruct ow by letting such granules move into exact registry with its circular openings, the noncircular openings of the screen in Figure 8 prevent any such clogging.

Referring now to Figure 9, where such treatment is practiced regularly within a well-equipped hospital or institution, the granular material I4 may simply be deposited in the bottom half or two-thirds of a glass bottle 68 provided with a conventional penetrable seal 18. Then the cannula coming from the donor is made long as indicated at 12 and is thrust through the seal and to the bottom of the granular material. The withdrawal cannula I4 is only pushed far enough through the seal I0 to maintain effective communication with the interior of the bottle. With such equipment, the blood coming from the donor goes to the bottom of the granular material I4 and percolates up slowly over a large area and accumulates in a substantial mass in the top of the bottle. This leaves a convenient sample in the bottle at the end of the operation, available for laboratory tests.

For instance, when ion exchange is being practised, there is always the risk that the resin may be exhausted before the withdrawal ends. Because the material left in the bottle is the very last portion to pass through treatment, the sample will be the least adequately treated portion. 1t is only necessary to label the main portion in the customary way to enable the laboratory to check the sample and call for Withdrawal of the main portion for further treatment if the sample indicates the need of it.

The container illustrated in Figure l0 is similai to the device shown in Figure l. The filter of Figure 10, instead of being a screen I2 as in Figure l, is a perforated end of the tubing 80 which is sealed on the inner end 8l and the perforated section of the tubing is enclosed inside the container. The perforated section of the tubing is composed of small circular holes 82 which are desirably smaller than the smallest fragments of the granular solid contained in the container. This type of filter is satisfactory for milled or broken fragments of the solid being used.

Figure 11 is a modied thimble lter similar to Figure l0; however, in this case the iilter section 83 is separate and is sealed on the tubing IB. This type of thimble filter allows a larger filtering area, and hence a greater fluid ow capacity.

As in the manufacture of the device as shown in Figure l, the devices of Figures 10 and 11 may have the parts sealed together either by heat or solvent.

Others may readily .adaptthe invention for use under various conditions of service by employing one or more of the novel features involved,l or equivalents thereof. As at present advised with respect to the apparent scope of our invention, we desi-re to claim the following subject matter.

1. A fluid-conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber' formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic walls; said chamber having-.a main` portion of relatively large -uniform diameter terminating in end necks of smaller diameter, said end necks of smaller diameter joined to said main portion by tapering conical portions; one of `said necks and its adjacent tapering portion being integral with said main portion; the other neck and its adjacent tapering portion being ar separate piece of material; saidseparate tapering portion having its edge of major diameter telescoped with the adjacent end edge of said main por-tion and integrally welded thereto; tubing continuing said necks in an outwardly extending direction; end filters disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of said necks as retaining means for solid material; said end filters being disposed at the small ends of both tapering portion and comprised of material in the nature of a woven 'barrier having non-circular openings; a filling of approximately spherical granules of 'ion exchange resin; said lling occupying the volume between said end filters to such an extent as to maintain the shape of said body during shipping or handling; said body in its configuration of maximum internal volume, enclosing a volume at least about two percent greater than the volume of the granular material when loosely packed, whereby rolling or other distortion to loosen the granular material is facilitated; said filters being a mesh structure having approximately square holes not more than about the granule diameter in maximum diagonal dimension.

2. A fluid-conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic walls; said chamber having a main portion of relatively large uniform diameter terminating in end necks of smaller diameter, said end necks of smaller diameter joined to said main portion by tapering conical portions; one of said necks and its adjacent tapering portion being integral with said main portion; the other neck and its adjacent tapering portion being a separate ypiece of material; said separate tapering portion having its edge of major diameter telescoped with the adjacent end edge of said main portion and integrally welded thereto; tubing continuing said necks in an outwardly extending direction; end filters disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of said necks as retaining means for solid material; said end filters being disposed at the small ends of both tapering portions and comprised of material in the nature of a woven barrier having non-circular openings; a filling of granular treating material; said filling occupying the volume between said end lters to such an extent as to maintain the shape of said body during shipping or handling; said body, in its conguration of maximum internal volume, enclosing a volume of at least about two percent greater than the volurne of the granular material when loosely packed, whereby rolling or other distortion to loosen the granular material is facilitated.

3. A nuid-conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic walls; said chamber having a main portion. of relatively large uniform diameter, and end necks of smaller diameter joined to said main portion by tapering portions; tubing continuing said necks in both directions; filter retaining means disposed inwardly from both of said end necks in the nature of a foraminated barrier; and a filling of granular treating material occupying the volume between said end lters to such an extent as to maintain the shape of said `body during. shipping or handling; said body, in its -coniiguration of maximum internal volume, enclosing a volume at least about two percent greater than the volume of the granular material when loosely packed, whereby rolling or other distortion to loosen the granular material is facilitated.

1. A fluid-conditioning chabmer for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic walls; filter-like retaining means at the ends of said chamber in the nature of fora-minated barriers; and a lling of granular treating material occupying the volume between said end filters to such an extent as to maintain the shape of said body during shipping or handling.

5. A fluid-conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a resilient tubular body with flexible plastic walls; said body having a constricted opening end at one extremity thereof; said opening end debouching through a short neck portion; a resilient cap for the other extremity of the said body having a constricted end therein closing the open end of said body and debouching through a second short neck portion; a length of resilient tubing secured to each said neck portion extending in an outward direction; a filter means disposed inwardly of the outer extremity of each said neck portion as a retaining means and adapted to prevent the exit of solid material; and a filling of solid material between the filter means for treating fluids and assisting in maintaining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

6. A fluid-conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber comprising a substantially tubular body having a central portion of uniform substantially circular cross section; the wall of said body being of flexible plastic; a tubular reducing portion at each end of said tubular body having a tapered portion terminating in a small diameter end neck; a transversely positioned lter element disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each said end neck as retaining means for solid material; said filter element being in the nature of a woven screen of plastic threads; a tubular connector portion of uniform small diameter connected to each said end neck and extending outwardly therefrom; and a filling of solid material retained in said body between the filter element adjacent each said tapered portion for treating fluids and assisting in maintaining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

7. A fluid-conditioning chamber assembly for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber comprising a tubular body having a central portion of uniform substantially circular cross section; the wall of said body being flexible plastic; a tubular reducing portion at each end of said uniform diameter having a tapered portion terminating in an end neck; a transversely positioned lter element disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each said end neck as retaining means for solid material; said filter element being in the nature of a woven screen of plastic threads; connecting tubes extending outwardly from each said end neck of the tubular portion; and a filling of solid material retained in said body between the filteradjacent each said tapered portion for treating uids and assisting in maintaining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

8. A fluid conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic Walls .having a main portion terminating in end necks of smaller diameter; a tubular member continuing each of said necks in an outwardly extending direction; a filter element disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of said end necks as retaining means for a solid material; said filter element comprising an inward extension of the said tubular member projecting into the interior of the said chamber, the said extension having the inner end thereof closed and lateral perforations therethrough constituting the lter element; and a lling of solid material between the lter elements for treating fluids and assisting in maintaining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

9. A uid conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination: a chamber formed of a tubular body with ilexible plastic walls having a main portion terminating in end necks of smaller diameter; a tubular member continuing each of said necks in an outwardly extending direction; a filter element disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of said end necks as retaining means for a solid material; said lter element comprising an inward extension of the said tubular member, the said extension having a separate length of tubing secured thereto, said tubing having the inner end thereof closed and lateral perforations therethrough constituting the lter element; and a lling of solid material between the ltei` elements for treating fluids and assisting in maintaining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

10. A fluid conditioning chamber for venoclysis equipment comprising, in combination; a chamber formed of a tubular body with flexible plastic walls having a main portion terminating in end necks of smaller diameter; a tubular member continuing each of said necks in an outwardly extending direction; a filter element disposed inwardly of the outer extremities of each of said end necks as retaining means for a solid material; and a filling of solid material between the filter elements for treating fluids and assisting in main taining the shape of said body during shipping and handling.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,341,114 Novak Feb. 8, 1944 2,464,496 Gee Mar. 15, 1949 2,470,943 Page May 24, 1949 2,525,497 Monfried Oct. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 373,734 Great Britain June 2, 1932

Images