Hydrophobic vent incorporated into cerebral spinal fluid drainage chamber
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Abstract
The invention comprises several aspects which are each independently useful or which may be combined in a variety of combinations. One aspect of the invention is placing an atmospheric reference vent at or near the top of a rigid drip chamber for draining CSF from a patient. In the preferred embodiment, the vent is placed on the inside of the drip assembly, immediately next to the CSF. The vent, in another aspect of the invention, is made of a hydrophobic material. In the preferred embodiment, the hydrophilic material is expanded polytetraflouroethylene (e-PTFE). In yet another aspect of the invention, the vent is made of a porous material having a pore size that allows air to readily pass through while preventing CSF from passing through. A preferred embodiment of this aspect includes making the vent of expanded polytetraflouroethylene (e-PTFE) with a pore size ranging from about 0.22 μm to about 5.0 μm and more preferable a pore size of about 3 μm. With this pore size, the vent also preferably has a surface area ranging from about 0.5 cm2 to about 5.0 cm2.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. A drip chamber system for draining cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) from a brain comprising:
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a reservoir;
an outlet manifold in fluid communication with the reservoir, the outlet manifold having an outlet;
an inlet manifold in fluid communication with the reservoir, the inlet manifold having an inlet and an outer surface, the inlet manifold having a hydrophobic vent, the hydrophobic vent having a filter made of a hydrophobic porous material;
a drainage bag; and
a stopcock connecting the reservoir to the drainage bag through the outlet. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification