VACUUM INDICATOR

• US 3,800,780 A
• Filed: 02/23/1972
• Issued: 04/02/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John Elliott
• Original Assignee: John Elliott
• Inventors: Elliott, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Truluck, Dalton L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Recla, Henry J.
• Application Number:
  US05/228,687
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 128/2F,2R,275,276,297,DIG.5,272,214B,214D,214E,214F 73/388,389 141/95,7,23B 23/254R,253TP 215/8,DIG.3 116/114 206/DIG.12,DIG.29,63.2R
• US Class Current: 600/577
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15003 for venous or arterial blood
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150351 Caps, stoppers or lids for sealing or closing a blood collection vessel or container, e.g. a test-tube or syringe barrel caps for bottles or containers in general B65D41/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150389 Hollow piercing elements, e.g. canulas, needles, for piercing the skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150496 Details of construction of hub, i.e. element used to attach the double-ended needle to a piercing device or sampling device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150732 Needle holders, for instance for holding the needle by the hub, used for example with double-ended needle and pre-evacuated tube,
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150786 Optical identification systems, e.g. bar codes, colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/154 Devices using pre-evacuated means

Abstract

An apparatus for withdrawing blood from a body vessel of the type including a tube with a partial vacuum pressure therein sealed at an open end by a flexible stopper, a needle having a sharp end for penetrating a vessel, an interior blood carrying cavity, an opposite sharp end, and a sleeve attachable to the needle so that the opposite end of the needle extends into the sleeve and adapted for receiving the stopper so that, when the one needle end penetrates the vessel, the stopper moves within the sleeve toward the opposite needle end which punctures the stopper and causes the blood to be drawn through the interior of the needle into the tube. In order to avoid unnecessary damage to blood vessels from attempts to withdraw blood with tubes which have lost their partial vacuum pressure, a quantity of material such as hemoglobin having a color which varies with the pressure about it is disposed within the tube before it is evacuated. The material can be dry and painted on the tube walls or liquid. Other indicators include cytochrome, myoglobin, heme and leucobases. In a further embodiment, two objects which have different air resistances, so that in full or partial pressure they fall under the influence of gravity, are disposed within the tube.

Claims

1. An apparatus for removing blood having a tube with at least partial vacuum pressure therein below atmospheric pressure and a needle connected to said tube with an end adapted for penetrating into a blood carrying body vessel and an interior blood transferring cavity so that, when said end has penetrated into a vessel, said cavity is in pneumatic connection with the interior of said tube and blood from that vessel is drawn through said cavity into the interior of said tube, the improvement comprising means within said tube for indicating by a change in visual characteristic the loss of said partial vacuum pressure including an object within said tube having a body portion and a blade portion extending from said body porTion and curved so that in free fall in air said object is rotated but in free fall in vacuum does not rotate.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said apparatus further includes flexible means sealing an open end of said tube and a sleeve member with said needle attached to one end and receiving said flexible means at the other end and wherein said needle has an end, opposite said end adapted for penetrating said vessel, for puncturing said flexible means when a force is exerted on said tube to cause said penetrating end of said needle to penetrate said vessel and said puncturing end to puncture said flexible means as said sealing means moves toward said needle within said sleeve member.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tube is transparent.

4. An apparatus for removing blood having a tube with at least partial vacuum pressure therein below atmospheric pressure and a needle connected to said tube with an end adapted for penetrating into a blood carrying body vessel and an interior blood transferring cavity so that, when said end has penetrated into a vessel, said cavity is in pneumatic connection with the interior of said tube and blood from that vessel is drawn through said cavity into the interior of said tube, the improvement comprising means within said tube for indicating by a change in visual characteristic the loss of said partial vacuum pressure including a roughly spherical ball and feather-like object roughly the same size as said ball but presenting a greater surface area in free fall within said tube.