Clamp for a medical device

Abstract

In some known disinfection apparatuses, the resilient clamp is in the form of a block of elastomeric material and more specifically, a block of silicone rubber. One problem with using the resilient clamp as described above is that users must take care when inserting the probe’s cord into between the lever formations so that the cord is presented parallel to the slot. In this regard, this care results in additional processing time to make sure the cord is inserted correctly. A further potential problem with these types of known resilient clamps is that they are not ideally suited to a large variation of cord diameters. More specifically, relatively small or relatively large diameter cords are not able to be ideally accommodated between the lever formations with either too small to too large compressive forces being respectively applied. A clamp for retaining a medical device in a medical apparatus includes a pair of opposed gripping elements. At least one of the gripping elements is substantially rotatably moveable to grip and apply a compressive force on a portion of the medical device when the portion is placed between the gripping elements. The compressive force increases when the at least one of the gripping elements rotates in one direction and reduces when it rotates in an opposite direction. Each gripping element includes a tapered lead-in portion forming a front face for separating the gripping elements when the portion of the medical device is pushed onto the lead-in portions. Each gripping element includes a gripping surface for gripping engagement with the portion of the medical device, and a step formation between the front face and the gripping surface to prevent interference with insertion of the portion of the medical device.

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