Abstract: A hose handling apparatus for gripping, advancing, and maneuvering a high pressure hose is provided. The hose handling apparatus comprises a support member comprising a first end, a middle section, and a second end, a generally cylindrical handle detachably connected to and substantially perpendicular to the first end of the support member forming a rigid connection with the support member to provide grip to a user's hand, a first generally cylindrical curvilinear gripping element detachably connected to and substantially perpendicular to the middle section of the support member, and a second generally cylindrical curvilinear gripping element detachably connected to and substantially perpendicular to the second end of the support member. The support member is angled at the middle section. The handle and the gripping elements form a parallel configuration which is perpendicular to a planar surface of the support member. The gripping elements grip the hose positioned between them firmly.

Abstract: A catheter securement device which automatically deploys one or more sutures to secure a catheter without requiring the practitioner to manually suture the catheter to the self-suturing anchor device. A ratchet mechanism having one or more rotatable ratchet members, which pivot, and a ratchet member engagement spring, which maintains contact between the teeth of the rotatable ratchet member and the teeth of the ratchet ring. A suture retention assembly is provided to maintain the position of the sutures to minimize disruption of the sutures before deployment of the sutures.

Abstract: A catheter securement device which automatically deploys one or more sutures to secure a catheter without requiring the practitioner to manually suture the catheter to the self-suturing anchor device. A ratchet mechanism having one or more rotatable ratchet members which pivot and a ratchet member engagement spring which maintains contact between the teeth of the rotatable ratchet member and the teeth of the ratchet ring. An O-ring is provided to maintain the position of the sutures to minimize disruption of the sutures before deployment of the sutures. In one embodiment, a stationary base of the anchor device comprises a single molded member. In another embodiment a method of manufacturing the catheter anchor device comprising welding a rotatable ring and one or more bearing members of the catheter anchor device through access bores in the stationary base.

Abstract: A catheter securement device which automatically deploys one or more sutures to secure a catheter without requiring the practitioner to manually suture the catheter to the self-suturing anchor device. A ratchet mechanism having one or more rotatable ratchet members which pivot and a ratchet member engagement spring which maintains contact between the teeth of the rotatable ratchet member and the teeth of the ratchet ring. An O-ring is provided to maintain the position of the sutures to minimize disruption of the sutures before deployment of the sutures. In one embodiment, a stationary base of the anchor device comprises a single molded member. In another embodiment a method of manufacturing the catheter anchor device comprising welding a rotatable ring and one or more bearing members of the catheter anchor device through access bores in the stationary base.

Abstract: A torque device for selectively gripping a medical guidewire. The device includes a housing, an actuator slidably mounted on the housing, and a resilient member biasing the actuator. A lumen dimensioned to receive the guidewire extends through the housing and actuator. The resilient member biases the actuator from a first position in which the lumen portions are aligned, toward a second position in which the lumen portions are misaligned. The actuator may include a catch that interferes with a stop of the housing to retain the actuator within the housing. The actuator may be oblong or otherwise shaped to maintain the lumen portions in substantial alignment in a longitudinal direction. Preferably, at least a portion of the lumen is teardrop-shaped in cross-section. The housing may include circumferentially or longitudinally extending ribs defining an outer grasping surface. Frusto-conical cavities may be defined at entry and exit ends of the lumen.

Abstract: A catheter securement device which automatically deploys one or more sutures to secure a catheter without requiring the practitioner to manually suture the catheter to the self-suturing anchor device. A ratchet mechanism having one or more rotatable ratchet members, which pivot, and a ratchet member engagement spring, which maintains contact between the teeth of the rotatable ratchet member and the teeth of the ratchet ring. A suture retention assembly is provided to maintain the position of the sutures to minimize disruption of the sutures before deployment of the sutures.

Abstract: An adaptor bracket for selectively coupling a manifold to a medical device has (i) a tab having a first end and a second end; and (ii) first and second gripping fingers extending from the second end of the tab. The first end of the tab is configured to be coupled to the medical device. The first and second gripping fingers are spaced so as to selectively receive a portion of a manifold within a groove formed between the first and second gripping fingers. The configuration of the bracket enables convenient manipulation of valves and ports on the manifold, such as when the practitioner desires to exchange tubing on the mounted manifold.

Abstract: A line keep includes a substantially flat base having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface. Positioned on the bottom surface is a pressure sensitive adhesive. Extending through the base between the top surface and opposing bottom surface are a pair of spaced apart apertures. A first prong upwardly projects from the top surface of the base and terminates in a horizontally disposed first finger disposed over the first aperture. A second prong projects from the top surface of the base adjacent to the second aperture and terminates at a second finger horizontally disposed over the second aperture. The first finger and second finger face in opposing directions and are configured to project through opposing sides of a vertical reference plane extending through the base between the first and second prong. The prongs can be selectively moved between an upstanding position and a folded position wherein the fingers are positioned adjacent to the line.

Abstract: A manifold has a manifold body defining a fluid flow pathway therethrough. The manifold body has a plurality of valves, at least one of which is a check valve. The manifold is coupled at one end to a syringe or other fluid delivery means and to an opposing end to a catheter or other fluid receiving means. By being positioned within the manifold body, the check valve is reinforced and stabilized within the manifold.

Abstract: Prophylactic needle guards or sheaths for protecting medical needles and persons using the medical needless either before or after use of the needle. The prophylactic needle guards have a flared portion in order to provide safe insertion of a medical needle into a protective hollow body portion. The needle guard includes structures which are configured to engage at least one of a variety of differently sized and configured wing portions found in medical needles. The needle guard may include a pair of projections that engage corresponding holes within the wing portions of medical needles that includes wings too large to enter the flared portion. Alternatively or in addition to the projections, the needle guard may include one or more interior annular grooves disposed on an inner surface of the flared portion that engage the wing portions of medical needles that have wings that are small enough to enter the flared portion.

Abstract: A blood containment device for use with a vascular entry needle provides visual and tactile confirmation that a blood vessel has been properly entered. The device includes a blood visualization chamber defined by a compliant member which provides a visual indication that a needle connected to the device has accessed a selected blood vessel. The blood visualization chamber is vented to allow air to escape therefrom as it is displaced by blood entering the visualization chamber, while a gas permeable membrane in communication with the vent to prevent significant blood from escaping from the blood containment device. A sealing member formed on an outer surface at one end of the compliant member works in conjunction with the gas permeable membrane to prevent significant leakage of blood from the device. The compliant member pulsates with changes in blood pressure, thereby providing continuous tactile confirmation that the needle tip is properly positioned within the selected blood vessel.

Abstract: Guidewire holders to store one or more coiled guidewires substantially immersed in a storage fluid are provided. Some embodiments are more suited to storing a single guidewire holder while other embodiments are designed specifically to hold a plurality of guidewires. The guidewire holder is generally configured as a shallow pan in a circular or ovoid shape with a periphery to hold the coiled guidewires. At least a portion of the guidewire holder is shaped so that the coiled guidewire is held away from at least the outer periphery of the holder. This enables a healthcare professional to reach into the guidewire holder and grasp a portion of the guidewire in order to easily extract the coiled guidewire from the holder.

Abstract: A syringe system for delivering fluid with a volume displacement assembly intensifier for expelling a predetermined volume of fluid from the syringe while activated. A syringe having a barrel and a syringe plunger is selectively operable to deliver fluid from the syringe barrel, and the volume displacement assembly is mounted in fluid communication with the barrel of the syringe. When the volume displacement assembly is activated, a predetermined amount of volume is displaced from the syringe into the balloon of a balloon catheter. Deactivation results in balloon deflation. A predetermined degree of inflation may be reproducibly obtained without the exercise of deliberate care as required with conventional syringes lacking a volume displacement assembly.

Abstract: A novel pressure transducer apparatus for medical pressure monitoring apparatus having a housing with a calibration port. The patient side of the transducer senses fluid pressures to be monitored. The non-patient side of the transducer is hermetically sealed in the housing of the apparatus. The housing has a female calibration port communicating, via a pinhole, with the non-patient side of the transducer. The non-patient side of the transducer can thus alternatively be vented to atmospheric pressure or be exposed to a vacuum calibration pressure.

Abstract: A syringe for injecting medicinal fluids into a patient or aspirating fluids or tissue from a patient, wherein the syringe incorporates a self-locking mechanism on the plunger thus preventing the plunger from being withdrawn back into the barrel by the action of a vacuum in the syringe barrel. The self-locking mechanism is independent of the relative rotational relationship of the plunger with respect to the barrel. Unlocking may be effected by simply squeezing the self-locking mechanism on the plunger, no rotational force being necessary.

Abstract: A locking syringe selectively operable in either of a freely reciprocating or a restricted, threaded mode. A trigger attached to the plunger includes internal threads on the interior of the barrel of the syringe and external threads located on the plunger on a spine slidable in a longitudinal slot in the plunger. A handle is affixed to the plunger, and a retraction bar is rigidly secured to the spine. The threads on the plunger may be retracted from engagement with the threads on the barrel, thereby placing the syringe in its freely reciprocating mode. The trigger, which is spring biased to engage the external and internal threads, employs a plurality of ramps and channels disposed at approximately the same angle to the longitudinal axes of the plunger and barrel as are the threads. A pawl is pivotally securable on the retraction bar at a position receivable into a pawl receiving aperture on the handle when the receiving bar is in its first position permitting reciprocating movement of the plunger.

Abstract: A syringe apparatus is described which has a novel adaptor assembly used for mounting a strain gauge to the syringe barrel. The adaptor assembly includes a housing in the form of a well formed on the distal end of the syringe barrel, and a housing insert which fits into the well and which caps the well when fully inserted. The housing insert in turn receives the mounting post of a strain gauge without having to thread the mounting post of the strain gauge into the housing insert. The housing insert properly aligns the mounting post of the strain gauge with an opening in the syringe barrel that provides fluid communication for purposes of reading pressures in the syringe barrel, and also properly rotationally orients the strain gauge so that the dial of the strain gauge is readable from the proximal end of the syringe apparatus.

Abstract: A syringe and method for use which may be selectively operated between a free position and a locked position. A triggering device configured with a trigger attached to the plunger of the syringe is employed. The triggering device includes a set of threads located on the plunger and a corresponding set of threads on the barrel of the syringe. Upon actuation of the trigger, the threads on the plunger are retracted from their position of engagement with the threads on the barrel, thereby placing the syringe in position for free movement of the plunger with respect to the barrel. The threads are biased in the engaged position. Thus, when the trigger is released, the threads on the plunger return to their position of engagement with the threads on the barrel. In the locked position, the plunger may be screwed into or out of the barrel by rotating the plunger, enabling the operator of the syringe to maintain strict control over the amount of pressure in the syringe.

Abstract: A syringe and method for use which may be selectively operated between a freely reciprocating position and a restricted position. A triggering means configured with a trigger attached to the plunger of the syringe is employed. The triggering means includes threads located external of the plunger and corresponding threads internal of the barrel of the syringe. Upon actuation of the trigger, the threads on the plunger are retracted from their position of engagement with the threads on the barrel, thereby placing the syringe in position for free sliding movement of the plunger with respect to the barrel. The trigger is biased to the engaged position so that if the trigger is released, the threads on the plunger return to their position of engagement with the threads on the barrel. In the restricted position, the plunger may be screwed into or out of the barrel by rotating the plunger, enabling the operator of the syringe to maintain strict control over the amount of pressure in the syringe.