Indwelling Catheter Pusher Guide Hemostasis Valve Design

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing indwelling catheters face challenges in maintaining blood leakage prevention and operability without increasing catheter base size, especially when temporarily disconnecting and reconnecting the male connector, often requiring complex structures like coil springs that complicate fixation and increase size.

Innovation Solution

The indwelling catheter incorporates a flexible hemostasis valve with a pusher guide that restricts the pusher's movement to specific positions, using a tapering design and compression to maintain valve closure without a coil spring, allowing for easy connection and disconnection of the male connector while preventing blood leakage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a coil spring is installed inside the catheter base to return the pusher to its original position, then the pusher can be reliably returned to the closed position, but the catheter base size increases and fixation becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepusher return reliabilityVSAvoidcatheter base size
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the coil spring from the catheter base, eliminating the space-consuming component while maintaining the pusher return function through an alternative mechanism involving the elastic hemostasis valve itself

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The hemostasis valve serves a dual function: it acts as both the sealing element and the return mechanism. The elastic valve automatically returns to its closed position after being pushed open, eliminating the need for a separate spring mechanism

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If the catheter base is made large enough to accommodate a coil spring, then the pusher can be returned reliably, but the indwelling catheter gets in the way during treatment and fixation is difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepusher return functionVSAvoidfixation ease
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

By removing the coil spring from the design, the catheter base size is reduced, making it easier to fix to the patient's skin and less obtrusive during treatment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Manufacturing precision

If a pusher guide is installed to restrict pusher position, then the pusher positioning precision is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepusher positioning precisionVSAvoidstructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pusher guide structure is merged with the existing catheter base and hemostasis valve assembly, integrating the positioning function into the existing structure rather than adding a separate complex guiding mechanism

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This design ensures reliable blood leakage prevention and easy operability without enlarging the catheter base, facilitating secure fixation and multiple connections/reconnections without the need for complex structures, enhancing user safety and convenience.

Implementation Method 1

a flexible hemostasis valve installed inside the catheter base

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElastic deformation: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentEP2764885B1Indwelling catheter
Publication Date: 2019.12.04 NIPRO CORP
  • EP2764885B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2764885B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2764885B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An indwelling catheter (10) including: a hollow catheter base (14) having a tip and a back end, the back end being able to receive and connect a male connector (24); a tube (12) provided at the tip of the catheter base (14); a flexible hemostasis valve (16) installed inside the catheter base (14); a pusher (18) installed at a back of the hemostasis valve (16); and a pusher guide (20) installed between the pusher (18) and the catheter base (14). The pusher (18) has a hollow constitution whose taper reduces in diameter facing its tip. The pusher guide (20) is able to restrict a position of the pusher (18) at a first position where the pusher (18) does not push open the hemostasis valve (16) and a second position where the taper of the pusher (18) is positioned inside the hemostasis valve (16) and pushes open the hemostasis valve (16).