Abstract: A hollow needle fixed in a chamber establishes a connection between an upstream coupling and a downstream coupling when it passes through a plug. The plug is made of a material such that it regains its closure properties when the needle is no longer passing through it, and it is pushed away from the needle by a spring to a closure position in which it fills the outlet opening of the downstream coupling. The connector is particularly suitable for use in medical applications.

Abstract: A hemostatic safety catheter-cannula assembly for the prevention of contamination by blood during vascular insertion includes a catheter-cannula having a flexible catheter-cannula tube connected to a base that includes a one-way valve member biased to normally prevent fluid flow through the catheter-cannula.

Abstract: A flexible medical device which is intended to be disposed in the opening or the incision in the skin tissue of an animal includes a thin, flexible, adherent film coating of a bioactive ceramic material at least at a point where the flexible portion of the medical device exits from the tissue. This bioactive coating bonds with the skin at the exit site to prevent infection of the tissue while allowing the catheter to remain flexible.

Abstract: The catheter with atraumatic drug delivery tip can be sued to access remote tortuous blood vessels and to deliver defined doses of medication over a desired length of the accesses vessel. The guidewire of the catheter helps guiding the catheter to a desired location and can be used to control release of medication in axial as well as in radial direction inside the vessel. The catheter is designed with sections of different flexibility.

Abstract: A method for cleansing operative tissue during a surgical procedure includes providing a cleansing liquid for application to the operative tissue in a region of surgical activity where the surgical procedure is being performed, continuously bathing the operative tissue in the region of surgical activity with the liquid and continuously evacuating the liquid from the region of surgical activity by drawing a vacuum through a perforate member covered with hydrophilic wicking material and having liquid spreading material interposed between the perforate member and the hydrophilic wicking material thereby to distribute the liquid to be evacuated as wicked by the wicking material over the surface of the perforate member.

Abstract: A retaining ring comprising a body of elastomeric material. The body has a wall with a generally cylindrical configuration and a longitudinal axis. The body also has an outer cylindrical surface and first and second end surfaces. The body has a bore extending therethrough along the longitudinal axis and through the first and second end surfaces with the wall of the body defining the bore. A plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart indentations are formed in the wall of the body and extend outwardly through the outer surface between the first and second ends.

Abstract: A syringe comprising a completely opaque barrel (2) and a plunger (3) having at least two measuring scales (6, 6'; 7, 7') , wherein one scale includes ascending numeral values and the other includes descending numeral values having a common index made of a rectilinear end (8) of the base of the cylinder.

Abstract: A manifold has a plurality of stopcocks wrapped in a flexible cellular material saturated with an antiseptic liquid and contained in a housing. Each control element of the stopcocks is removable and can be rotationally integrated with a head portion of a stopcock via a shaped male part. The shaped male part engages a female cavity of a matching shape through openings provided in the housing and in the cellular material opposite the stopcocks. Markings showing the position of the stopcocks are visible from the exterior of the housing when the element is withdrawn.

Abstract: A self-packaging safety syringe set (2) uses a unitary molded set of enclosure units (8, 104) sized for housing conventional cartridge-needle units (12) therein. The set of enclosure units are connected to one another by frangible connections (64, 66; 130, 138). The cartridge-needle unit has a hollow barrel (14) with a needle assembly (24) mounted to one end and a piston (16) mounted therein. Each enclosure unit includes a body section (38, 106), a stem section (44, 108) frangibly connected to one end of the body section, and an end cap (52, 110) connected to the other end of the body section. The frangible connection (48, 118) is broken to free the stem section from the body. The removed stem section is used to drive the piston within the barrel. After use, the barrel is pulled back through the body section so that the needle is completely housed within the body section.

Abstract: A hollow, molded, disposable, plastic syringe is provided with an air trap chamber in fluid communication with a collapsible container portion. An umbilical passage connects the container to the chamber. With the air trap chamber extending upwardly from the container portion, air is trapped in the chamber. The chamber is then removed by sealing the umbilical passage shut and severing the passage between the seal and the chamber. The syringe is then useable without any air contained in the container. The container is shaped to facilitate ejection of an accurate dose without injecting too little or too much of the contained liquid.

Abstract: A disposable safety guard for syringe needles and the like, the safety guard being adapted to receive the tip of a needle in a wedge or V-shaped interior chamber within a body member. The interior encloses a high frictional surfaced gripping device which receives the syringe needle in a lateral direction and prevents the needle from being removed therefrom, after it is secured therein. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gripping mechanism within the interior of the body member comprises a rectangular shaped plastic component having two planar members joined by a thinned or living hinge permitting the component to be folded in half so that it may conform to the shape of the interior of the body member and close upon the needle. A layer of coarse grain sandpaper is placed on the folded interior surface of the gripper component in order to increase the frictional engagement with the syringe needle.

Abstract: A needle safety device is provided which allows a health care professional to dispose of a needle quickly and safely while also only using only one hand. The safety device comprises a housing having an orifice therethrough; a puncture detection system in the housing and comprising a first membrane secured over the orifice, a pH sensitive dye, and a gas for raising the pH above normal atmospheric conditions; and a securing system in the housing and comprising a curable adhesive, a curing agent, and a membrane for temporally separating said adhesive from said curing agent.

Abstract: A front syringe attachment is provided for mounting on a syringe cylinder of hypodermic syringes for subcutaneous injection, particularly for use in veterinary medicine, which substantially includes a first hollow-cylindrical barrel and a second hollow-cylindrical barrel of smaller diameter which is arranged in the latter in a telescoping manner, wherein the end of the first barrel facing the syringe cylinder is fastened to the syringe cylinder and the end of the second barrel facing the syringe cylinder can be pushed into the first barrel against a spring arranged in the first barrel, and the ends of the two barrels on the injecting side have a step-like or stair-like construction, wherein the end of the second barrel on the injecting side projects beyond the end of the first barrel on the injecting side in the rest position and completely covers the hypodermic needle.

Abstract: The present invention is a catheter having a guidewire lumen slidable sleeve. The lumen and sleeve have aligned apertures, which may be closed by moving the slidable sleeve. When the apertures are aligned, a guidewire may be loaded from the distal end of the catheter through the lumen. The guidewire is forced out of the lumen by a ramp in the lumen. The ramp is at the end of a removable core member, which provides enhanced shaft rigidity. The catheter may be converted from a "monorail" to an "over-the-wire" configuration by moving the slidable sleeve to close the aperture and advancing a replacement guidewire through the guidewire lumen past the now sealed aperture. A non-circular cross-section is used for the lumen, removable core member, and slidable sleeve, thereby maintaining orientation of the lumen and slidable sleeve apertures should the catheter undergo rotational flexing during use.

Abstract: A suction tube for removing fluid from a body cavity, viscus or wound. The tube has an elongate tubular section (22) with an exterior surface and an interior surface defining an internal longitudinal passageway (30). The tube has a proximal end portion designed to be connected to a suction source and a distal end portion designed to be inserted into a body cavity, viscus or wound. The tubular section (22) includes a plurality of radially extending, circumferentially spaced elongate portions (25) extending along the length of the tubular section. The portions (25) are configured and spaced so that a longitudinal external lumen (26) is provided between each pair of portions (25). A longitudinal entrance channel (32) couples each external lumen (26) with the region surrounding the tubular section. The channels (32) are configured to allow entry of fluids while substantially preventing entry of debris or living tissue from a body cavity, viscus, or wound.

Abstract: A subcutaneous drug delivery device having a driving member for advancing a piston, concentrically enclosed by a cannula, to deliver a drug pellet to a subcutaneous tissue site. The piston has a recessed distal platform upon which the pellet rests for delivery when the distal end of the piston is exposed beyond the cannula.

Abstract: An osmotic bursting device for dispensing a beneficial agent to an aqueous environment. The device comprises a beneficial agent and osmagent surrounded at least in part by a semipermeable membrane. Alternatively the beneficial agent may also function as the osmagent. The semipermeable membrane is permeable to water and substantially impermeable to the beneficial agent and osmagent. A trigger means is attached to the semipermeable membrane (e.g., joins two capsule halves). The trigger means is activated by a pH of from 3 to 9 and triggers the eventual, but sudden, delivery of the beneficial agent. These devices enable the pH-triggered release of the beneficial agent core as a bolus by osmotic bursting.

Abstract: An intravascular catheter for providing access to distal vascular sites. The intravascular catheter comprises an elongate shaft with a lumen extending therethrough. The elongate shaft is comprised of a composite construction and has a proximal relatively stiff section, a distal section relatively more flexible than the proximal section, and an intermediate section between the proximal and the distal sections that provides a transition in flexibility between the proximal section and the distal section. The distal section has surface contours that impart flexibility to the distal section. A method for processing a tubular member with surface contours for use in a medical device, such as a catheter or guide wire, is also provided.

Abstract: A device for facilitating intra-tissue observation and/or manipulation includes an outer sleeve having a first end and a second end and an inner sheath member adapted for insertion into the second end, wherein the first end is a penetration end adapted to move tissue away from the penetration end. A preferred embodiment of the penetration end includes a hollow cone adapted to expand and retract upon axial movement of the inner sheath such that expansion of the penetration end moves tissue away from the first end to form an open operating area. The inner sheath member includes a scope, such as an optically based telescope, for visually observing an area proximate the first end. A pronged grip device secures the outer sleeve about the opening. The pronged grip device includes adjustable prongs which are axially slidable along the outer sleeve and radially contractible to substantially form an airtight seal between the outer sleeve and the opening.

Abstract: A multiple injection syringe system having a cartridge carrier that is loaded with three pre-filled cartridges which are to be selectively accessed so that the contents of the cartridges can be delivered to a patient in a particular, predetermined order. The syringe system of the present invention has particular application to facilitating the SASH process, such that two of the cartridges are filled with saline and one with heparin. A double ended needle cannula is carried by a rotatable manifold. One end of the cannula projects outwardly from the manifold for administering an injection, while the opposite end projects inwardly to communicate with a selected cartridge within the carrier. The manifold is rotated around the cartridge carrier to each of three positions corresponding to three steps of the SASH process, whereby the cannula is correspondingly rotated from one cartridge to the next.