Apparatus and method for administration of IV liquid medication and IV flush solutions

Abstract

The present invention provides a medical liquid administration apparatus and administration method that are particularly apt for intravenous (IV) applications. More particularly, the administration apparatus and method may be employed in conjunction with the administration of liquid medication and one or more flush solutions from multi-dose sources, wherein fluid interconnections between at least one flush solution source and the administration apparatus may be established a single time at the outset of a given procedure. The administration apparatus may include a valve having a control member selectively positionable to provide any selected one of a plurality of closed flow paths through the valve, and a syringe interconnected to the control member for clockwise / counterclockwise co-rotation therewith (e.g. to establish the selected flow path). The valve may include a valve housing have a plurality of ports, wherein in one arrangement at least two of the ports have corresponding center axes lying in offset first and second planes. Correspondingly, the control member may include an internal passageway extending between a plurality of apertures, wherein at least two of the apertures have center axes lying in said offset first and second planes. By selectively rotating the control member, different fluid paths may be established between different ones of the valve housing ports, thereby facilitating closed-path passage of a liquid medication and one or more flush solutions therethrough. In particular, the flush solution(s) and liquid medication may be passed sequentially into the interconnected syringe for subsequent manual administration by medical personnel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 225,886, filed on Aug. 22, 2002, and entitled “ADMINISTRATION OF IV LIQUID MEDICATION AND IV FLUSH SOLUTIONS, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to the field of medical liquid administration, and more particularly, to an administration apparatus and method for administering multiple medical liquids during one or repeated periods. The administration apparatus and method are particularly apt for use in successive intravascular (IV) administrations of liquid medication and one or multiple flush solutions over an extended time period, wherein the liquid medication and flush solution(s) may be alternately infused through a closed system requiring only a single vascular catheter fluid interconnection per sequenc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] In view of the foregoing, a primary objective of the present invention is to reduce the number of steps and associated time required by medical personnel for the infusion of medical liquids in conjunction with IV procedures. A related objective is to facilitate the utilization of multi-dose flush solution sources in conjunction with IV liquid medication administration procedures occurring over an extended course of therapy.

[0010] An additional objective of the present invention is to provide the noted medical liquid administration efficiencies in a manner that also enhances the maintenance of sterility.

Problems solved by technology

As may be appreciated, such steps may need to be repeated numerous times over the course of extended medication therapy, e.g. after each infusion and vascular catheter access port reconnection, thereby entailing significant medical personnel time and resulting in substantial medical waste.

Further, while unit dose syringes provide good sensitivity for aspiration purposes they are not particularly pressure sensitive for flushing purposes.

Further, contamination concerns may arise when a unit dose syringe is filled from a multi-dose reservoir at the point of use.

However, significant syringe handling is required.

Moreover, labeling becomes a further need when a delay is expected between the filling of a unit dose syringe and the usage of the filled syringe.

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