Manual/auto-prime air eliminator

• US 20060084920A1
• Filed: 11/07/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett LLC (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Kappel, Thomas Francis, Worley, Mark Dennis
• Granted Patent: US 7,828,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/126
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1411 Drip chambers A61M5/162, A61M5/1689, A61M5/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/36 with means for eliminating or preventing injection or infusion of air into body dialysis systems, blood oxygenators A61M1/14; haemofiltration equipment A61M1/34; automatic tube cut-off A61M39/281

Abstract

A vent system for an infusion drip chamber is provided according to the invention. The vent system includes an automatic air eliminator communicating with an interior and an exterior of the infusion drip chamber. The automatic air eliminator is capable of automatically venting air from the infusion drip chamber in a substantially continuous manner. The vent system further includes a mechanical air eliminator communicating with the interior and the exterior of the infusion drip chamber. The manual air eliminator is capable of mechanically venting air from the infusion drip chamber at discrete time intervals.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. An apparatus, comprising:

an infusion chamber configured to hold a liquid and a gas;

a filter configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber while confining the liquid to the infusion chamber; and

a mechanical gas eliminator configured to vent gas from the infusion chamber.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter comprises a hydrophobic element.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter comprises an oleophobic element.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises a self-actuated mechanism configured to automatically vent the gas in the infusion chamber in response to a gas pressure within an interior of the infusion chamber.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises a manually-actuated mechanism configured to vent the gas in the infusion chamber.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises a ball disposed within a conduit, wherein the ball is configured to obstruct the conduit when the ball or the conduit are not deformed and vent the gas when the ball or the conduit is deformed.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises:

a plunger adjacent a gas passage in fluid communication with an interior of the infusion chamber; and

a biasing device in contact with the plunger, wherein the biasing device is configured to bias the plunger in a position that obstructs the gas passage.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter and the mechanical gas eliminator are configured to vent a gas from a common gas containing volume of the interior of the infusion chamber when a substantial volume of the interior contains a liquid.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, comprising:

a first conduit with a first gas passage coupled to the filter and the infusion chamber, wherein the first gas passage is configured to place the filter and the infusion chamber in fluid communication with one another; and

a second conduit with a second gas passage coupled to the mechanical gas eliminator and the infusion chamber, wherein the second gas passage is configured to place the mechanical gas eliminator and the infusion chamber in fluid communication with one another, and wherein the second gas passage does not share a common volume with the first gas passage outside of the interior of the infusion chamber.

25. The apparatus of claim 16, comprising an intravenous fluid delivery system coupled to the infusion chamber.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, comprising an infusion liquid disposed in the intravenous fluid delivery system.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

an infusion chamber configured to hold a gas and a liquid;

a filter configured to vent the gas from an infusion chamber while confining the liquid to the infusion chamber;

a mechanical gas eliminator configured to remain closed to the flow of the gas so long as the filter vents a sufficient amount of the gas from the chamber and vent the gas from the infusion chamber in response to the filter becoming obstructed.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the filter comprises a hydrophobic membrane.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the filter comprises an oleophobic membrane.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein wetting of the filter by the liquid in the infusion chamber causes the filter not to vent the sufficient amount of the gas and causes the mechanical gas eliminator to open.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises a normally-closed, gas-pressure-actuated valve.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator is configured to vent the gas from the chamber in response to wetting of the filter.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises:

a conduit coupled to the infusion chamber; and

a ball disposed within the conduit, wherein at least one of the ball and the conduit is substantially resilient and configured to deform in response to a fluid pressure within the infusion chamber and vent the gas.

34. The apparatus of claim 27, comprising an infusion chamber in fluid communication with the filter and the mechanical gas eliminator.

35. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the infusion chamber is in fluid communication with the filter and the mechanical gas eliminator through separate gas passages, wherein the separate gas passages do not share a common volume outside of an interior of the infusion chamber.

36. An apparatus, comprising:

an infusion chamber with configured to hold a liquid and a gas;

a mechanical gas eliminator configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber; and

a filter configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber while confining the liquid to the infusion chamber, wherein the filter comprises a membrane sized so that the mechanical gas eliminator remains closed so long as the membrane remains generally dry and the mechanical gas eliminator vents the gas from the infusion chamber if the membrane becomes substantially wetted by the liquid in the infusion chamber.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises an automatic mechanical gas eliminator.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the automatic mechanical gas eliminator comprises a pressure-actuated mechanism.

39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the mechanical gas eliminator comprises a manually-actuated mechanism.

40. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the membrane comprises a gas-venting, liquid-confining, hydrophobic membrane.

41. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the membrane comprises a gas-venting, liquid-confining, oleophobic membrane.

42. The apparatus of claim 36, comprising an intravenous fluid delivery system coupled to the infusion chamber.

43. The apparatus of claim 36, comprising an infusion liquid within the intravenous fluid delivery system.

44. A method of manufacturing an infusion chamber, comprising:

providing an infusion chamber configured to hold a gas and a liquid;

providing a gas-venting, liquid-confining filter configured to fluidically couple to the infusion chamber; and

providing a fluid pressure-actuated, normally-closed mechanical gas eliminator configured to fluidically couple to the infusion chamber, wherein the fluid pressure-actuated, normally-closed mechanical gas eliminator is configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber in response to the gas-venting, liquid-confining filter becoming obstructed.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein providing a gas-venting, liquid-confining filter comprises providing a hydrophobic membrane configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber while confining the liquid in the infusion chamber.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein providing a gas-venting, liquid-confining filter comprises providing an oleophobic membrane configured to vent the gas from the infusion chamber while confining the liquid in the infusion chamber.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein providing a fluid pressure-actuated, normally-closed mechanical gas eliminator comprises:

providing a deformable conduit; and

providing a ball sized to fit within the deformable conduit and vent the gas from the infusion chamber in response to a fluid pressure within the infusion chamber exceeding a threshold value.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein providing a fluid pressure-actuated, normally-closed mechanical gas eliminator comprises providing a plunger configured to obstruct a gas passage to an infusion chamber.

49. The method of claim 44, comprising providing an intravenous fluid delivery system configured to couple to the infusion chamber.

50. The method of claim 49, comprising providing an infusion liquid configured to be delivered by the infusion chamber.

51. A method, comprising:

venting a gas from an infusion chamber through a filter

confining a liquid to the infusion chamber with the filter; and

venting the gas from the infusion chamber through a mechanical gas eliminator in response to a fluid pressure within the infusion chamber.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein venting through the filter occurs non-simultaneously with venting through the mechanical gas eliminator.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein venting a gas from an infusion chamber through a filter comprises venting a gas through a hydrophobic element.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein venting a gas from an infusion chamber through a filter comprises venting a gas through an oleophobic element.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein venting the gas from the infusion chamber through a mechanical gas eliminator comprises automatically opening a mechanical gas eliminator with a fluid pressure.

56. The method of claim 51, wherein venting the gas from the infusion chamber through a mechanical gas eliminator comprises deforming a conduit disposed about a ball.

57. The method of claim 51, wherein venting the gas from the infusion chamber through a mechanical gas eliminator comprises displacing a plunger disposed over a gas passage with a fluid pressure differential.

58. The method of claim 51, comprising automatically closing the mechanical gas eliminator when the mechanical gas eliminator is not venting the gas from the infusion chamber with a biasing device.

59. The method of claim 51, comprising opening a mechanical gas eliminator in response to a manually applied force.

60. The method of claim 51, comprising infusing a fluid into a person.