Cannula safety sleeve invention

Abstract

A safety device for preventing dislodgment of a cannula into the eye during intraocular surgery comprises an adhesive tape through which a hole is formed. The tape sits over the hub of the cannula and

Description

Description Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly carried out operations in the world. It is fundamentally a very safe procedure however sight threatening complications can occur. The surgery involves the use of syringes and cannulae to inject fluids into the eye. These fluids include anaesthetic agents, viscoelastic devices, antibiotics and balanced salt solutions. The syringe should be a Luer Lock syringe which requires the hypodermic needle to be screwed on, rotating the needle clockwise thereby achieving a tight fit bond between the needle and the syringe. This is vital as if the cannula becomes disconnected from the syringe it can fly off at significant speeds into the eye resulting in potentially blinding consequences. Despite the use of these syringes the cannula can still come off and patients are losing vision because of it. In April 2018 the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the NHS Improvement national patient safety team highlighted this safety issue. [https: / / www.rcophth.ac.uk / news-views / ophthalmic-safety-alert-detachment-of-cannulas-during-ophthalmic-surgery / ] The cannula can dislodge for three reasons: (1) The surgeon and scrub practitioner fail to adequately tighten the cannula to the syringe and / or fail to appropriately check it, (2) The surgeon and scrub practitioner tighten the cannula but it is mis threaded, and (3) The Luer lock syringe has a manufacture fault. The invention details an adhesive tape that sits over the top of the cannula and attaches to the syringe to prevent the cannula ejecting at force into the eye if it does become loosened or mis threaded. It will be used during any intraocular surgical procedure. The tape has a hole in it through which the needle portion of the cannula is placed. The tape is then stuck to the syringe. It is easily applied and easily removed. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention thus provides a device which is applied over the cannula and secures it to the syringe to stop it flying off into the eye during intraocular surgery. Brief description of the invention: The device consists of a small sheet of adhesive tape with a hole placed centrally to allow the cannula to pass through. It is used during intraocular surgery. The cannula is attached to the Luer lock (or any other) syringe. The cannula is threaded through the hole in the tape and the tape is then attached firmly to the syringe. The adhesive tape may have its ends adapted with slits or an elastic band may be used to assist connection to the cannula. Figure 1 shows the image of what the device may look like before application. Figure 2 shows the image of the device fitted to the syringe and cannula.

Claims

1. A safety assembly comprising a syringe, a needle or cannula connected thereto, and an adhesive tape with a hole therethrough, wherein the tape is positioned over a hub of the needle or cannula so that the needle or cannula extends through the hole, the ends of the tape are adhered to the syringe, and the tape thereby helps to secure the needle or cannula to the syringe.

2. The safety assembly of claim 1, wherein the hole is located centrally on the tape.

3. The safety assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the ends of the tape are each bifurcated bya respective slit.

4. The safety assembly of claim 1 or 2, comprising an elastic band to help adhesion of the tape.

5. The safety assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the adhesive is at the ends of the tape.

6. The safety assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the connection to the syringe comprises a threaded coupling.

7. The safety assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the needle or cannula is for intraocular use.

8. A method of securing a needle or cannula to a syringe, including the steps of: feeding the needle or cannula through a hole in a sheet of adhesive tape; andadhering the tape to the syringe so that a hub of the needle or cannula is retained by the tape.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the hole is located centrally on the tape.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the ends of the tape are each bifurcated by arespective slit.

11. The method of claim 8 or 9, including the step of using an elastic band to help adhesion of the tape.

12. The method of any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the adhesive is at the ends of the tape.

13. The method of any of claims 8 to 12, including the step of connecting the hub to thesyringe at a threaded coupling.

14. The method of any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the needle or cannula is for intraocular use.

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