Abstract: A cannula for delivering gas to an abdominal cavity includes a tubular main body that defines a lumen. A hub is formed at the proximal end of the main body and a central bore is formed in the hub. An annular groove is formed in an outer periphery of the hub. A nipple has a radially-inwardly extending annular ridge formed in it and the diameter of the annular ridge is slightly less than a diameter of the annular groove so that the annular groove releasably but snugly receives the annular ridge. An elongate hose is adapted to provide fluid communication between a remote gas machine and an enclosed space defined by the nipple and the hub when the nipple is attached to the hub. Gas under pressure is delivered to an abdominal cavity of a patient through the hose, the enclosed space, and the lumen.

Abstract: An apparatus for a heated surgical drape device including a surgical drape with an integral convective heat therapy portion. The surgical drape is attached to the convective heat therapy portion. In various embodiments, the surgical drape includes a surgical drape with removable sections that allow access to the body of the patient during surgery, at least one pocket, and an integral window adjacent the head of the patient to allow viewing of the head of the patient. The convective heat therapy portion is a tubular device formed of sheets joined together and sized to allow the patient to rest within a pair of tube sections. The convective heat therapy portion has a plurality of exhaust openings that exhaust heated air toward the patient. In one embodiment, the tubular device has wing sections that are adjacent the outstretched arms of the patient.

Abstract: An oximeter machine includes a built in first socket that is positively engaged by a jack at the proximal end of a first cable. The distal end of the first cable includes a jack that engages the proximal end of a second socket. The proximal end of a second, adjustable length cable engages the distal end of the second socket and the distal end of the second cable engages the proximal end of a third socket. The proximal end of a third cable engages the distal end of the third socket and the distal end of the third cable is engaged to an oximeter finger sensor. A retractable cable housing enables the length of the second cable to be adjusted so that its length may be minimized to reduce cable tangling and to minimize a tripping hazard.

Abstract: A combination surgical drape and blanket covers the entire body of a supine patient to provide draping and body temperature management in a single structure. A flexible sheet of plastic overlies a flexible substrate and is connected to the substrate at its periphery to create a hollow space into which warm air is pumped. A plurality of tie-downs maintains a low profile for the inflated cover. Removable panels grant access to areas of the body for surgical procedures. The structure includes a tool-holding platform and a releasably mounted urine drainage system that enables a patient to remain connected to a urine drainage bag even when the combination surgical drape and blanket is removed at the conclusion of a surgical procedure.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube having utility in one lung ventilation has a curvature of predetermined radius formed in its distal end so that it is easily introducible into a left bronchus or a right bronchus of a trachea. The curvature is produced by first inserting a straight copper tube into the distal free end of a conventional straight endotracheal tube. The copper tube is then bent into the desired radius of curvature and the distal end of the endotracheal tube is inserted into an oven at a temperature of about one hundred seventy degrees to soften the thermoplastic materials of which the endotracheal tube is made. After the thermoplastic materials have softened and conformed to the curvature of the copper tube, the distal end is allowed to cool and the copper tube is then removed therefrom. When cooled, the distal end of the endotracheal tube maintains its curvature when the copper tube is withdrawn due to the thermoplastic quality of the materials from which the endotracheal tube is made.

Abstract: 7A garage door opener is adapted to activate an illumination source such as a light bulb that is mounted in a location within a garage that is sufficiently remote from the garage door opener so as to be substantially unaffected by vibrations generated by the operation of the garage door opener. In a preferred embodiment, an electrical socket is formed in a housing of the garage door opener and a plug is adapted to releasably engage the electrical socket. The plug is in electrical communication with the remotely mounted illumination source. When a consumer activates the garage door opener, the opener generates a signal that causes electrical power to be delivered to the electrical socket. A timer sends a second signal to disconnect the electrical power after the lapse of a predetermined time. This construction substantially lengthens the lifetime of the illumination source.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube having utility in one lung ventilation has a curvature of predetermined radius formed in its distal end so that it is easily introducible into a left bronchus or a right bronchus of a trachea. The curvature is produced by first inserting a straight copper tube into the distal free end of a conventional straight endotracheal tube. The copper tube is then bent into the desired radius of curvature and the distal end of the endotracheal tube is inserted into an oven at a temperature of about one hundred seventy degrees to soften the thermoplastic materials of which the endotracheal tube is made. After the thermoplastic materials have softened and conformed to the curvature of the copper tube, the distal end is allowed to cool and the copper tube is then removed therefrom. When cooled, the distal end of the endotracheal tube maintains its curvature when the copper tube is withdrawn due to the thermoplastic quality of the materials from which the endotracheal tube is made.

Abstract: A surgical tool of the type used with a trocar expands the diameter of a puncture opening made in a body cavity so that a linear incision is not needed in certain surgical procedures. An elongate base member of cylindrical construction is divided into a plurality of parts by cuts that extend the longitudinal extent of the base member in circumferentially spaced relation to one another and the parts are bound together and held into a solid cylindrical configuration by a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart bias members such as rubber bands. A plunger has an elongate leading end that drives the base member parts in a radially outward direction, increasing the diameter of the puncture opening, when it is inserted into the base member. The bias members restore the parts of the base member to their position of repose when the leading end of the plunger is withdrawn from the base member.

Abstract: A blood analyzer includes a display means that visually informs operating room personnel of the instantaneous condition of a patient's blood. Arterial or central venous tubing connects the analyzer to a blood vessel, either arterial, venous, or both, of the patient. In a first embodiment, a plurality of sensor means are positioned within a primary chamber of the analyzer. In a second embodiment, a secondary chamber in valved fluid communication with the primary chamber enables introduction of blood thereinto and a port is provided for entry of a syringe needle so that reactants may be introduced into the secondary chamber so that an additional test may be performed. In a third embodiment, the primary chamber is in valved fluid communication with a conventional pressure transducer.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube has a temperature sensor positioned proximal of a patient's larynx when the tube is in use. Thus, the sensor overlies the tongue. In view of the high vascularity of the tongue, the sensor provides an accurate reading of the patient's body temperature and responds quickly to temperature changes. A heat insulator inhibits heat transfer from the interior of the endotracheal tube to the sensor, and an electrical insulator electrically isolates the sensor from the tongue. In a first embodiment, the sensor is linear in configuration, and in a second embodiment the sensor is serpentine in configuration to increase the surface area of the contact between the sensor and the tongue. A third embodiment adds an oxymeter. In additional embodiments, the sensor is placed on other highly vascular regions of the body, or where an artery is present. The sensor may also be positioned within a preselected vein or artery.

Abstract: The proximal end of a nasal oxygen catheter is modified so that it releasably engages a facemask coupler that is in fluid communication with an anesthesia machine. A facemask is also releasably engaged to the facemask coupler. The distal end of the catheter includes nasal prongs and oxygen only from the anesthesia machine is dispensed to the patient through the prongs when the proximal end of the catheter is engaged with the facemask coupler. Upon disengagement of the proximal end of the catheter from the coupler, the facemask may be applied to the nose and mouth of a patient without reconfiguring the anesthesia machine. The anesthesia or oxygen-dispensing capabilities of the anesthesia machine are not disabled by any configuration of parts so that the machine may be reconfigured from an oxygen-only mode to an oxygen-and-anesthesia mode in only a second or two.

Abstract: A connector for joining an endotracheal tube and an integrally formed auxiliary lumen to a source of anesthesia and a preselected item of auxiliary equipment, respectively, includes a first pair of tubular mounting members on a proximal end of the connector that are closely radially spaced with respect to one another and longitudinally spaced from a second pair of tubular mounting members on a distal end of the connector that are closely radially spaced with respect to one another. A pair of parallel bores are formed in the base of the connector to provide fluid communication between associated, longitudinally spaced apart mounting members.

Abstract: A connector for joining an endotracheal tube and an integrally formed auxiliary lumen to a source of anesthesia and a preselected item of auxiliary equipment, respectively, includes a first pair of tubular mounting members on a proximal end of the connector that are closely radially spaced with respect to one another and longitudinally spaced from a second pair of tubular mounting members on a distal end of the connector that are closely radially spaced with respect to one another. A pair of parallel bores are formed in the base of the connector to provide fluid communication between associated, longitudinally spaced apart mounting members.

Abstract: A device that wraps around a flexible bag containing fluid to warm the fluid and to pressurize the bag so that warmed fluid flows from the bag at a rate dependent upon the amount of pressure applied to the bag. The device includes a heating element that may be set at a preselected temperature and an inflatable bladder that may be inflated to a preselected pressure.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube and inflatable cuff assembly that allows medical instrumentation to be positioned in the trachea. The device remains securely placed in the trachea and allows the passage of gases to the lungs to be controlled. It also provides means for containing various medical instrumentation in a hermetically sealed environment. The device is used during surgery for placement of medical instrumentation, such as heart monitors and electrodes for atrial pacing, inside a hermetically sealed inflatable cuff such that the instrumentation can be appropriately positioned inside the trachea. The device also enables the physician to insert a low pressure gauge, a temperature gauge, an echo probe or other sensing means into the cuff, or to listen directly to acoustical phenomena within the cuff in the absence of instrumentation.

Abstract: A flexible endotracheal tube is disclosed for acoustically monitoring the heart sounds of a patient. The tube comprises a flexible conduit to provide a respiratory passage and a separate cardiac sound passage conduit. An inflatable cuff is disposed near the distal end of the flexible conduit to contact and sealingly conform to the interior wall of the trachea upon inflation. The closed chamber of the inflatable cuff is in fluid communication with the separate sound passage for enhanced acoustic reception from the inflatable cuff. The distal end of the sound passage conduit includes a terminal end defining an angular cut to enhance the acoustic reception of the heart sounds acoustically transmitted from the interior tracheal wall through the inflatable cuff and into the acoustically separate conduit.

Abstract: An endotracheal tube and inflatable cuff assembly that allows medical instrumentation to be positioned in the trachea. The device remains securely placed in the trachea and allows the passage of gases to the lungs to be controlled. It also provides means for containing various medical instrumentation in a hermetically sealed environment. The device is used during surgery for placement of medical instrumentation, such as heart monitors and electrodes for atrial pacing, inside a hermetically sealed inflatable cuff such that the instrumentation can be appropriately positioned inside the trachea. In another embodiment, no instrumentation is employed so that the inherent limitations of instruments are avoided.

Abstract: A sound generating pacifier for use by an infant which comprises a pacifier body having a first end and a second end with an air passageway extending therebetween. The pacifier body defines a pacifier guard for preventing in use the infant from choking on or swallowing the pacifier. A nipple is disposed at the first end of the pacifier body. The nipple further includes an aperture formed therein to enable in use air communication between the mouth of the infant and the air passageway of the pacifier body. A sound generating means for directly generating a sound upon a flow of air therethrough is positioned at the second end of the pacifier body. The sound generating means is in air communication with the air passageway of the pacifier body.

Abstract: An epidural needle and method of use are disclosed involving a needle shaft having a first end and a second end with an axial channel extending therebetween. The first end of the needle shaft includes an inclined surface and a rounded and blunted point. The second end of the needle includes an attachment means. A solid rod having an inclined surface and a rounded and blunted point is receivable into the axial channel of the needle shaft. When the solid rod is positioned within the axial channel of the needle shaft, the point of the solid rod and the needle together form a unitary tip having an inclined portion and a blunted portion. The blunted portion forms an end face disposed at an angle of about 80 to 100 degrees relative a longitudinal axis of the needle.