| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20090192447 | Gas vent valve assembly - A gas vent valve assembly may be attached or incorporated to a disposable fluid transfer set used with a fluid warmer to administer an infusate to a patient. The gas vent valve assembly has a housing having a fluid inlet, a gas outlet and a fluid outlet. The gas outlet is located at the top of the housing while the fluid outlet is located at the bottom of the housing. The fluid inlet is located at a side lower portion of the housing. Inside the housing is an actuator float that has an upper seal and a lower seal. The dimension of the float relative to the chamber of the housing is such that the float is freely movable within the housing to an upper position whereby its upper seal closes the gas outlet while the fluid outlet is opened, and to a lower position whereby its lower seal closes the fluid outlet and the gas outlet is opened. The movement of the float is dependent on the respective amounts of air and fluid in the housing, and the buoyancy of the float relative to the fluid in the housing. When a predetermined volume of air gets inside the housing, the float sinks to its lower position to close the fluid outlet and open the gas outlet, so that the air inside the housing is vented to atmosphere while fluid is prevented from being output to the patient. When the amount of gas in the chamber has been reduced to a given volume, with a corresponding increase in the amount of fluid in the housing, the float is raised to open the fluid outlet, thereby enabling the fluid inside the housing to be output to the patient. At that time, the gas outlet is shut to prevent any reverse inflow of air into the housing. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20100094089 | MULTI-FLUID DELIVERY SYSTEM - A proximal connector of an endoscope shaft can be manually attached to and detached from a console, such that the connector and endoscope shaft can be provided as a single use device. An interface between the proximal connector and console can include a sliding plate moveable to operably make and break at least some of the connections between the console and endoscope shaft. A fluid reservoir may be separately connected to the proximal connector and hang from a mount on the interface. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100241073 | Heat exchanger connector assembly - A connector assembly for a heat exchanger has a fitting and a mount to which the fitting couples. The fitting has an elongate body having a proximal portion and a distal portion. At the proximal portion there is a crossbar, and at the distal portion there are an inlet and an outlet that protrude away from the body. Two wings extend from the body in a direction opposite to that of the inlet and outlet. There is formed on each of the wings a locking protrusion. The mount has a top portion where there is a groove dimensioned to accept the crossbar of the fitting. A longitudinal channel is formed orthogonal to the groove in the mount. Two sidewalls extend from the mount each for accepting a corresponding one of the wings, when the fitting is coupled to the mount. Apertures are provided at the sidewalls to engage the protrusion at the wings so that, once the fitting is coupled to the mount, it is secured thereto, until a force is exerted to compress the wings towards each other to disengage the protrusions from the apertures. To couple the fitting to the mount, a user first positions the crossbar of the fitting onto the groove of the mount, with the body of the fitting at an angle relative to the mount. With the crossbar resting on the groove, a pivot point is established between the fitting and the mount, so that the body of the fitting can be pivotally positioned within the channel of the mount. At that time the inlet and outlet of the fitting are mated to an output port and an input port, respectively, of the mount; and the protrusions at the wings of the fitting are engaged to the apertures at the sidewalls of the mount. An infusate line and a heat exchanger are connected to the proximal end and distal end, respectively, of the fitting. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20110022025 | Medical device having capacitive coupling communication and energy harvesting - Provided is a wearable, self-contained drug infusion or medical device capable of communicating with a host controller or other external devices via a personal area network (PAN). The medical device utilizes a PAN transceiver for communication with other devices in contact with a user's body, such as a physiological sensor or host controller, by propagating a current across the user's body via capacitive coupling. The wearable nature of the medical device and the low power requirements of the PAN communication system enable the medical device to utilize alternative energy harvesting techniques for powering the device. The medical device preferably utilizes thermal, kinetic and other energy harvesting techniques for capturing energy from the user and the environment during normal use of the medical device. A system power distribution unit is provided for managing the harvested energy and selectively supplying power to the medical device during system operation. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110054285 | Flexible and Conformal Patch Pump - Provided is a flexible and conformal wearable, self-contained medical device. The medical device comprises an integral housing formed by a flexible upper portion and a flexible lower portion joined along their perimeters. The medical device is also provided in a plurality of shapes and configurations for increasing the flexibility and conformability of the housing. The components contained within the housing, such as a drug reservoir, printed circuit board, and power supply are preferably constructed from flexible materials and are formed, connected and positioned according to the configuration of the housing in a manner for enhancing flexibility of the housing. A thermal bubble micropump is provided for controlling flow of a drug from the flexible reservoir, that utilizes a thermal resistor provided locally to a thermal expansion fluid that causes a surrounding membrane to expand and displace a volume of drug to be provided to the user. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110054390 | Extended Use Medical Device - Provided is an extended use self-contained, wearable medical device. The device is preferably configured with an infusion deployment mechanism for variably inserting and retracting an infusion needle to different depths, or completely retracting the infusion needle from the infusion site and then re-inserting the infusion needle after a predetermined period of time, throughout an infusion cycle for extending the viability of the infusion site. Another embodiment comprises dual needle deployment mechanisms which may also variably insert and retract the infusion needles. A flow sensor is preferably provided for detecting the stoppage of flow through the infusion cannula and signaling the needle deployment mechanism to attempt infusion at a different depth or to deploy a second infusion needle. A re-fillable reservoir assembly is preferably provided for supplying a drug over the extended use of the device. Another embodiment comprises a partially reusable and partially disposable medical device implementing the above features. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110160675 | SAFETY PEN NEEDLE ASSEMBLY - In one aspect, a safety pen needle assembly is provided herein which includes a hub with a needle fixed to the hub, the needle having a distal end, formed for insertion into a patient, and a proximal end. The assembly further includes a shield and a biasing member disposed between the hub and the shield configured to urge the shield distally. A protrusion extends from at least one of the hub and the shield with a channel being formed in at least the other of the hub and the shield. The channel is formed to accommodate the protrusion. The shield is movable from a first position to a second position. In the first position, the shield is spaced from the distal end of the needle such that the distal end of the needle is exposed. In the second position, the shield covers the distal end of the needle. The channel guides the protrusion as the shield moves from the first position to the second position. With this arrangement, a shield may be directed to move in a desired path with stability. In addition, the distal end of the needle may be initially exposed to permit visual confirmation of priming, while allowing the shield to cover a majority of the needle to minimize any needle-related anxiety. | 06-30-2011 |
