Medical lavage apparatus

• US 4,842,581 A
• Filed: 09/11/1987
• Issued: 06/27/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Incorporated (Kimberly-Clark Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Richard C. Davis
• Inventors: Davis, Richard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosenbaum, C. Fred
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kruter, J. L.
• Application Number:
  US07/095,077
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 604/36-38, 604/191, 604/218, 604/900, 604/227, 604/82, 222/137
• US Class Current: 604/38
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/772 operating alternately

Abstract

A medical lavage apparatus (10) for body cavities, comprises a housing (20) having parallel irrigation and aspiration cylinders (28, 32) with plungers (24, 26) extending in bores thereof from a first end and aspiration and irrigation check valves positioned in parallel, smaller, offset, valve cylinders (46, 48) located at second ends. A septum (50) formed of intersecting semi-circular-in-cross-section baffles joins the adjacent outer ends of the irrigation and aspiration check valve cylinders so as to allow full fluid streams flowing from these outer ends to flow together at an angle. An oblong-in-cross-section, funnel-shaped, common exchange tube (22) is attached to the housing surrounding ends of both the irrigation and aspiration check valve cylinders and the septum. Inlet and outlet ports (42 and 44) are respectively positioned on the sides of the irrigation and aspiration cylinders with appropriate check valves located therein for coupling respectively to supply and waste containers (12, 16). When either of the plungers is fully inserted into its respective cylinder, a seal (80) on the end thereof covers the respective inlet or outlet port, thereby making that cylinder inoperative so as to avoid undesired fluid mixing between cylinders.

Claims

1. A medical lavage syringe device for irrigating and aspirating a body cavity, said device comprising:

an integral rigid housing defining an elongated irrigation cylinder with an irrigation bore and an elongated aspiration cylinder with an aspiration bore, said bores being substantially parallel and side-by-side, said irrigation and aspiration cylinder bores each being open and unconnected at first ends thereof, said rigid housing further defining respectively an inlet port and an outlet port in said respective irrigation and aspiration cylinders intermediate said first and second ends thereof;

a separate rigid common exchange tube rigidly attached to said housing having a single manifold wall surrounding said second ends of said bores so as to enclose said second ends of said bores in a common manifold chamber and leading to a common nozzle;

an irrigation plunger and an aspiration plunger having first ends for respectively fitting into said first open ends of said irrigation and aspiration cylinders and having sliding seals at said first ends thereof for making sealing, sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores and including hand-engaging portions at second ends outside the cylinders for engaging a hand and thereby being moved into and out of their respective bores by said hand;

a system of check valves comprising an inlet check valve located at said inlet port for allowing the flow of fresh irrigation fluid into said inlet port but hindering the flow of fluid from said inlet port, an outlet check-valve located at said outlet port for allowing the flow of aspiration fluid from said outlet port but hindering the flow of fluid into said outlet port, an irrigation check-valve located at said irrigation bore between said inlet port and said common exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said irrigation bore into said common exchange tube but for hindering the flow of fluid from said common exchange tube into said irrigation bore and an aspiration check-valve located at said aspiration bore between said outlet port and said common exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said common exchange tube into said aspiration bore but hindering flow in the opposite direction;

wherein said housing further includes at said second end thereof an inwardly V-shaped septum positioned between said irrigation and aspiration cylinder bores for allowing fluid flowing from these bores to come gradually together, said V-shaped septum extending longitudinally from said second end of said housing to be surrounded by said manifold wall, said septum including baffle means for preventing of cross mixing of fluids.

2. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein said mainifold wall of said common exchange tube is oblong in cross-sectional shape forming said manifold chamber to be oblong in shape in which fluid flows to and from said irrigation and aspiration cylinders.

3. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 2, wherein said inlet and outlet ports are located in side walls of said respective irrigation and aspiration cylinders to be directed laterally away therefrom and wherein said sliding seals are of such a size that those portions thereof normally making sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores are large enough to cover said inlet and outlet ports, and wherein said irrigation and aspiration plungers are appropriately long and said inlet and outlet ports are located such that when said irrigation and aspiration plungers are fully inserted in said irrigation and aspiration cylinders said sliding seals extend beyond said inlet and outlet ports and those portions of said sliding seals which normally make contact with the internal cylinder surfaces complete cover said inlet and outlet ports to prevent the flow of fluid therethrough.

4. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein baffle means forming said V-shaped septum are semi-circularly shaped in cross-section and intersect along a semi-circular line.

5. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein said inlet and outlet ports are located in side walls of said respective irregation and aspiration cylinders to be directed laterally away therefrom and wherein said sliding seals are of such a size that those portions thereof normally making sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores are large enough to cover said inlet and outlet ports, and wherein said irrigation and aspiration plungers are appropriately long and said inlet and outlet ports are located such that when said irrigation and aspiration plungers are fully inserted in said irrigation and aspiration cylinders said sliding seals extend beyond said inlet and outlet ports and those portions of said sliding seals which normally make contact with the internal cylinder surfaces complete cover said inlet and outlet ports to prevent the flow of fluid therethrough.

6. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein said inlet and outlet check-valves are significantly larger in size than said inlet and outlet ports leading thereto, with said rigid housing including shelves extending over portions of said inlet an outlet check-valves to define said inlet and outlet ports to be elongated in shape.

7. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein each of said hand-engaging portions of said irrigation and aspiration plungers is a closed loop, each said loop having a relatively-straight, parallel to the longitudinal axes of the elongated irrigation and aspiration cylinders, sides positioned close to each other to allow a user to substantially grip and use each handengaging portion by passing fingers of the same hand through each of said closed loops, with adjacent fingers in different loops being close together.

8. A medical lavage syringe device as in claim 1, wherein the irrigation and aspiration cylinders each provide approximately 160 cc'"'"'s in stroke volume.

9. A medical lavage syringe device for irrigating and aspirating a body cavity, said device comprising:

a rigid housing defining an irrigation cylinder with an irrigation bore and an aspiration cylinder with an aspiration bore, said bores being substantially parallel and side-by-side, said irrigation and aspiration cylinder bores each being open and unconnected at first ends thereof, said rigid housing further defining respectively an inlet port and an outlet port in said respective irrigation and aspiration cylinders intermediate first and second ends thereof;

a common tube configuration coupling second ends of said irrigation and aspiration cylinders to a common nozzle;

an irrigation plunger and an aspiration plunger having first ends for respectively fitting into said first open ends of said irrigation and aspiration cylinders and having seals at said first ends thereof for making sealing, sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores and including hand-engaging portions at second ends outside the cylinders for engaging a hand and thereby being moved into and out of their respective bores by said hand;

a system of check-valves comprising an inlet check-valve located at said inlet port for allowing the flow of fresh irrigation fluid into said inlet port but hindering the flow of fluid from said inlet port, an outlet check-valve located at said outlet port for allowing the flow of aspiration fluid from said outlet port but hindering the flow of fluid into said outlet port, an irrigation check-valve located at said irrigation bore between said inlet port and said common exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said irrigation bore into said common exchange tube but for hindering the flow of fluid from said common exchange tube into said irrigation bore and an aspiration check-valve located at said aspiration bore between said outlet port and said exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said common exchange tube into said aspiration bore but hindering flow in the opposite direction;

wherein, said inlet and outlet check-valves are significantly larger is size than said inlet and outlet ports leading thereto, with said rigid housing including shelves over portions of said inlet and outlet check-valves to define said inlet and outlet bores to be elongated in shape.

10. A medical lavage syringe device for irrigating and aspirating a body cavity, said device comprising:

a one piece rigid housing defining an elongated irrigation cylinder with an irrigation bore and an elongated aspiration cylinder with an aspiration bore, said bores being substantially parallel and side-by-side, said irrigation and aspiration cylinder bores each being open and unconnected at first ends thereof, said rigid housing further defining respectively an inlet port and an outlet port in said respective irrigation and aspiration cylinders intermediate said first and second ends thereof;

a separate exchange tube attached to said housing and leading to a common nozzle;

an irrigation plunger and an aspiration plunger having first ends for respectively fitting into said first open ends of said irrigation and aspiration cylinders and having sliding seals at said first ends thereof for making sealing, sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores and including hand-engaging portions at second ends outside the cylinders for engaging a hand and thereby being moved into and out of their respective bores by said hand;

a system of check valves comprising an inlet check valve located at said inlet port for allowing the flow of fresh irrigation fluid into said inlet port but hindering the flow of fluid from said inlet port, an outlet check-valve located at said outlet port for allowing the flow of aspiration fluid from said outlet port but hindering the flow of fluid into said outlet port, an irrigation check-valve located at said irrigation bore between said inlet port and said common exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said irrigation bore into said common exchange tube but for hindering the flow of fluid from said common exchange tube into said irrigation bore and an aspiration check-valve located at said aspiration bore between said outlet port and said common exchange tube for allowing flow of irrigation fluid from said common exchange tube into said aspiration bore but hindering flow in the opposite direction;

wherein, motion of said irrigation plunger into and out of said irrigation bore causes fluid to flow from said inlet port to said common exchange tube while motion of said aspiration plunger into and out of said aspiration bore causes fluid to flow from said exchange tube to said outlet port; and

wherein said inlet and outlet ports are located in side walls of said respective irrigation and aspiration cylinders to be directed laterally away from axes of elongation thereof and wherein said sliding seals are of such a size that those portions thereof normally making sliding contact with internal cylinder surfaces of said respective bores are large enough to cover said inlet and outlet ports, and wherein said irrigation and aspiration plungers are appropriately long and said inlet and outlet ports are located such that when said irrigation and aspiration plungers are fully inserted in said irrigation and aspiration cylinders said sliding seals extend beyond said inlet and outlet ports and those portions of said sliding seals which normally make contact with the internal cylinder surfaces completely covering said inlet and outlet ports to prevent the flow of fluid therethrough.