Key-Operated Catheter Lock for Unauthorized IV Access Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients, particularly those with opioid and substance abuse issues, misuse intravenous catheters for drug injection during hospital stays or at home, leading to prolonged hospitalizations, infections, and potential overdoses, posing a significant burden on healthcare systems.
Innovation Solution
A catheter lock system that requires a key for access, restricting use to authorized personnel, featuring a clamshell housing with interlocking tabs and a key-operated locking mechanism to secure IV catheters, ensuring only authorized individuals can access and use the catheter.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a catheter lock system with key is implemented, then unauthorized access to IV catheters is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter lock system is divided into separate functional components: a locking mechanism with interlocking tabs, a key-operated cam system, and a hub assembly. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while maintaining overall system reliability through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The key acts as an intermediary element between the user and the locking mechanism. The key's protrusions interact with the cam features to rotate the lock disc cams, which in turn move the interlocking tabs to engage or disengage the lock. This intermediary mechanism provides controlled access while maintaining system reliability.
2Reliability
If a key-operated locking mechanism is used, then access control is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including rotatable lock disc cams and movable interlocking tabs. The cam features translate rotational motion from the key into linear motion of the tabs, enabling smooth engagement and disengagement of the lock. This dynamic design maintains ease of operation while ensuring reliable access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The interlocking tabs are pre-configured in the hub assembly, and the locking mechanism is pre-set to require key insertion for activation. This preliminary arrangement ensures that the catheter is secured by default, and authorized access is granted only after the preliminary action of key insertion and rotation, balancing security with operational convenience.
3Reliability
If interlocking tabs with cam features are implemented, then locking reliability is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cam features on the lock disc cams and the corresponding protrusions on the key are designed with asymmetric geometries. This asymmetry ensures that only the correctly oriented key can engage the cam features, providing inherent alignment guidance during insertion. The asymmetric design reduces manufacturing precision requirements by self-aligning the components during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam features incorporate curved surfaces and rounded edges that facilitate smooth engagement and rotation. The curved geometry of the cam profiles allows for gradual engagement of the interlocking tabs, reducing the need for extremely precise manufacturing tolerances while maintaining reliable locking function.
Data Source
AI summary
A catheter lock system includes a clamshell housing comprising a body and a cover; one or more interlocking tabs of the body having a hook feature; compatible interlocking tabs of the cover configured to releasably engage with the interlocking tabs of the body; a key with one or more protrusions arranged at two different angles; one or more lock disc cams including a cam feature; wherein a rotation of the key is operable to cause the interlocking tabs of the body to release from the compatible interlocking tabs of the cover using each of the one or more protrusions of the key.