Infiltration cannula

Abstract

An infiltration cannula and method of using the infiltration cannula during an infiltration procedure are disclosed herein. The infiltration cannula has a flexible cannula and a hub. The cannula has a proximal end and a distal end. The cannula also has a plurality of apertures disposed in a pattern about the distal end. The apertures are configured to infiltrate fluid into the subcutaneous or muscle tissue of a patient. The hub is configured to be held by a person performing the infiltration procedure. The hub has a first end and an opposing second end. The first end is attached to the proximal end of the flexible cannula and the second end includes a connector configured to connect to an input source for receiving the fluid to be infiltrated into the subcutaneous tissue of the patient. The fluid flows from the connector, through the hub and into the cannula.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 877,566, filed on Jun. 25, 2004 which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 442,370, filed on May 21, 2003 and is related to pending application Ser. No. 10 / 877,337, filed on Jun. 25, 2004, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.STATEMENT RE Federally Sponsored Research / Development [0002] Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Definitions [0003] Tumescent Technique The tumescent technique is a method of subcutaneous drug delivery of large volumes of very dilute medication together with dilute epinephrine in isotonic solution of crystalloid infiltrated directly into subcutaneous fat or muscle to produce swelling and firmness, or tumescence, of the targeted tissues, and thus produce very slow systemic absorption as a result of intense subcutaneous vasoconstriction. [0004] Tumescent...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025] Multiple infiltration cannulas (e.g., two) may be used simultaneously. Use of multiple infiltration cannulas prevents disruption of the infiltration process when one infiltration cannula is removed. Multiple infiltrators can be simultaneously inserted into separate areas to facilitate more rapid delivery of fluids.

Problems solved by technology

The piston-like in and out motion of the cannula causes the patient discomfort.

The On-Q® device cannot be inserted through a tiny hole in the skin into subcutaneous tissue.

As described above, repeated injections or piston-like movement of the cannula causes patient discomfort.

Slow continuous infiltration may not be desirable in certain situations.

Furthermore, continuous infiltrations restrict patient movement for extended periods of time which also cause the patient discomfort.

One example is the need for a cannula that permits emergency fluid resuscitation in situations where an IV cannot be established such as nighttime military combat conditions where using a flash light to establish an IV access would be extremely dangerous.

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