Disinfecting Male Luer Connector Cap with Integrated Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nurses often fail to consistently disinfect female luer connectors before male-to-female connections, leading to potential bloodstream infections due to microbial contamination, as they may not have disinfectant swabs or forget to apply them.
Innovation Solution
A disinfecting male luer connector cap with a chamber containing a disinfectant and a sealing member, which can be opened to allow the female luer connector to access the disinfectant, ensuring proper disinfection before connection, and can be coupled to the male luer connector via threading or a slip-fitting mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If nurses manually apply disinfectant swabs to female luer connectors, then disinfection can be performed, but compliance is inconsistent due to human factors such as forgetting or lack of available swabs
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service disinfection by integrating the disinfectant application mechanism directly into the connector assembly. The female connector automatically receives disinfectant from the male connector through mechanical interaction during the connection process, eliminating the need for separate manual swabbing actions and ensuring consistent disinfection compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the disinfectant delivery function with the mechanical connection function. The male connector incorporates a disinfectant reservoir and delivery mechanism that activates during the connection process, combining two previously separate operations (disinfection and connection) into a single integrated action that ensures both are performed reliably.
2Reliability
If disinfectant swabs are kept available for nurses, then disinfection compliance improves, but the system complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The male luer connector serves multiple functions: it acts as both the fluid connection device and the disinfectant delivery system. The integrated design combines the connector body with a built-in disinfectant reservoir and application mechanism, eliminating the need for separate disinfectant swabs and storage systems while ensuring reliable disinfection with each connection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If manual disinfection procedures are implemented, then infection risk is reduced, but time is lost due to the additional step required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary disinfection action by pre-loading the male connector with disinfectant before the connection process begins. The disinfectant is automatically applied to the female connector during the connection maneuver itself, rather than requiring a separate pre-disinfection step, thereby eliminating time loss while ensuring infection risk reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention allows the disinfection process to be skipped as a separate step and integrated into the essential connection action. The mechanical interaction during connection rapidly delivers the disinfectant and completes the disinfection process in the same time it takes to make the connection, eliminating additional time loss while maintaining effective microbial contamination prevention.
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
The solution ensures that the female luer connector is consistently disinfected before connection, reducing the risk of microbial contamination and associated health risks, while also serving as a reminder for nurses to perform disinfection.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing member coupled to the body portion at the distal end and configured to prevent leakage of the disinfectant
Implementation Method 2
the chamber containing a disinfectant... provide an exposed portion of a female luer connector access to the chamber containing the disinfectant
Data Source
Figure 1(A)~1(B)
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A system and method for disinfecting an exposed portion of a female luer connector is disclosed. A male luer connector coupled to a male luer connector cap is provided where the male luer connector cap has a chamber containing a disinfectant and a sealing member for sealing the disinfectant in the chamber. The chamber is at least partly opened and the disinfectant exposed by movement of the sealing member. An exposed surface of a female luer connector is caused to come in contact with the disinfecting fluid in the chamber prior to the female luer connector mating with the male luer connector.