Sprayer for fibrin glue

• US 5,759,171 A
• Filed: 09/27/1996
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd. (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Thermogenesis Corporation (Cesca Therapeutics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Coelho, Philip H., Menke, Peter, Alcone, Jerry M., Wolf, Terry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Buiz, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRUONG, KEVIN THAO
• Application Number:
  US08/722,473
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 604/46, 604/49, 604/56, 604/82, 604/83, 604/94, 604/173, 604/181, 604/187, 604/191, 604/258, 604/390, 604/311, 606/213, 606/214, 239/398, 239/418, 239/419, 239/419.3, 239/423, 222/129, 222/135, 222/137
• US Class Current: 604/82
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00491 Surgical glue applicators surgical adhesives A61L24/00; two-component delivery syringes A61M5/19
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00495 for two-component glue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/037 with a frangible part, e.g. by reduced diameter
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/0846 with jets being only jets constituted by a liquid or a mixture containing a liquid

Abstract

A sprayer for dispensing fibrinogen and thrombin to form fibrin glue immediately away from the sprayer to prevent clogging and insure accurate precise metering. The sprayer includes a pistol grip area, a barrel and a trigger which moves a plunger support that captures the plunger of a syringe. One syringe holds thrombin and the other syringe holds fibrinogen. Each syringe communicates with an outlet having an atomizer.

Claims

1. A gun for dispensing fibrin glue formed from thrombin and fibrinogen, where both the thrombin and the fibrinogen are respectively sequestered in independently operable syringes, the syringes each having a plunger which reciprocates within a hollow of a body of the syringe and an outlet on the syringe body remote from the plunger, said gun comprising in combination:

a barrel,

means for supporting each of the syringes on said barrel of said gun,

means for constraining the plungers of each syringe to control each plunger'"'"'s reciprocation within its syringe,

said plunger constraining means operatively coupled to a trigger located on a handle said handle attached to said barrel

metering means between said trigger and said plunger'"'"'s constraining means to control the degree to which the plungers are depressed within the hollows of the syringes to thereby precisely meter the outflow from each syringe such that a standardized quanta of fibrinogen and thrombin are dispensed with each trigger pull, and

first and second dispensing means on said barrel, one for each syringe, said dispensing means operatively coupled to the outlets of their respective syringes whereby motion of the plungers by said trigger dispenses the contents of each said syringe.

2. The gun of claim 1 wherein said metering means includes a shaft having first and second ends, said shaft coupled to said trigger at said first end and said shaft second end in operative registry with a pivot lever, said pivot lever pivotally coupled to a wobble-plate, said wobble-plate having a bore to receive therethrough a rod, said rod coupled to said plunger constraining means, and a biasing means operatively coupled between said rod and said wobble plate such that upon squeezing and thereafter releasing said trigger, said trigger and said wobble-plate return to an initial, ready position and said plunger constraining means relaxes pressure on the syringes to prevent inadvertent dispensing of the thrombin and fibrinogen.

3. The gun of claim 2 wherein said dispensing means are spray nozzles on said barrel.

4. The gun of claim 3 wherein said spray nozzles are angled toward each other so that fluid dispelled from the syringes through said nozzles will communicate while airborne.

5. The gun of claim 4 wherein said handle further comprises:

a first finger rest, said trigger adjacent to and interposed between said barrel and said first finger rest,

a bottom wall adjacent said first finger rest and opposite said trigger and said bottom wall including a second finger rest.

6. The gun of claim 5 wherein said handle has a palm rest adjacent to and interposed between said bottom wall and said barrel, forming an area at the intersection of said barrel and said palm rest to accommodate a bight portion of a user'"'"'s hand between a thumb and index finger.

7. The gun of claim 6 further comprising a trigger housing juxtaposed complementarily about said trigger.

8. The gun of claim 7 wherein said trigger comprises:

top and bottom sides, said bottom side longer than said top side, and

front and rear sides, said front side concavically formed to better receive an index finger, said rear side complimentarily formed to coact with said trigger housing.

9. The gun of claim 8 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially parallel to said palm rest.

10. The gun of claim 9 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially perpendicular to said second finger rest surface.

11. The gun of claim 10 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are obtusely angled from said barrel.

12. The gun of claim 11 wherein said biasing means is a spring through which rides said rod and against, said spring straddles said wobble-plate and an abutment.

13. A method for forming fibrin glue, the steps including:

sequestering thrombin in a first syringe,

sequestering fibrinogen in a second syringe,

orienting each said syringe to be in fluid communication with its own dispensing head,

coupling plungers of each said syringe to a trigger, and

metering a defined quantum exiting each syringe by squeezing the trigger each said squeeze of the trigger controlling the metering.

14. The method of claim 13 further including the step of forming a first and second conical spray mist upon projection from each dispensing head.

15. The method of claim 14 including orienting each conical spray mist to converge at a fixed distance from each dispensing head, allowing each mist to commingle en route to a target.

16. The method of claim 15 including forming said dispensing heads as spray nozzles.

17. The method of claim 16 including housing said fibrinogen source and said thrombin source in a barrel.

18. The method of claim 17 including forming a handle to project from said barrel.

19. The method of claim 18 including forming a trigger in said handle so that the launching source is activated by triggering said trigger.

20. The method of claim 19 including pressing and releasing said trigger, wherein said thrombin and said fibrinogen are launched and projected upon pressing said trigger, thereby precisely metering the outflow from each syringe such that a standardized quanta of fibrinogen and thrombin are dispensed with each trigger pull.

21. Fibrin glue formed from mixing two fine mists, the steps including:

projecting each mist from a syringe conically outwardly such that each mist overlaps the other a set distance from its launching source,

the fibrin glue formed by;

a first said mist of thrombin sprayed as an atomized mist in a first outwardly diverging conical pattern from a thrombin source, and

a second said mist of fibrinogen sprayed in a second outwardly diverging conical pattern,

said first and second outwardly diverging conical patterns overlapping each other during a portion of the respective trajectories remote from their launching sources so that the thrombin and fibrinogen can mix while aloft and land on a target in a substantially overlapping conical pattern as fibrin glue.

22. The glue of claim 21 wherein the thrombin and fibrinogen are dispensed in substantially equal volumes.

23. A medicament dispenser, comprising, in combination:

a barrel having means to support and means to deliver medicament,

a handle coupled to said barrel, said handle having a first finger rest,

a trigger adjacent to and interposed between said barrel and said first finger rest, said trigger coupled to said medicament delivery means, and

said handle having a bottom wall adjacent said first finger rest and opposite said trigger, said bottom wall defining a second finger rest.

24. The medical dispenser of claim 23 wherein said handle has a palm rest adjacent to and interposed between said bottom wall and said barrel, forming an area at the intersection of said barrel and said palm rest to accommodate a bight portion of a user'"'"'s hand between a thumb and index finger.

25. The medical dispenser of claim 24 further comprising a trigger housing juxtaposed complementarily about said trigger.

26. The medical dispenser of claim 25 wherein said trigger comprises:

top and bottom sides, said bottom side longer than said top side, and

front and rear sides, said front side concavically formed to better receive an index finger, said rear side complementarily formed to coact with said trigger housing.

27. The medical dispenser of claim 26 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially parallel to said palm rest.

28. The medical dispenser of claim 27 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially perpendicular to said second finger rest surface.

29. The medical dispenser of claim 28 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are obtusely angled from said barrel.

30. A dispenser for delivering medicament contained in a syringe, comprising, in combination:

a barrel,

a dispensing head on said barrel,

support means for the syringe on said barrel including means to depress a plunger of the syringe into a cavity of the syringe, the syringe having an outlet coupled to said dispensing head,

said dispenser including a hand grip connected to said barrel,

a trigger on said hand grip,

a rod extending from said depressing means, and

a wobble-plate extending from said trigger to said rod, such that squeezing said trigger pushes the plunger into the syringe cavity my moving said wobble-plate and said rod.

31. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 30 wherein said dispensing head includes a spray nozzle on said barrel.

32. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 31 wherein said hand grip further comprises:

a first finger rest, said trigger adjacent to and interposed between said barrel and said first finger rest,

a bottom wall adjacent said first finger rest and opposite said trigger and said bottom wall including a second finger rest.

33. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 32 wherein said hand grip has a palm rest adjacent to and interposed between said bottom wall and said barrel, forming an area at the intersection of said barrel and said palm rest to accommodate a bight portion of a user'"'"'s hand between a thumb and index finger.

34. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 33 further comprising a trigger housing juxtaposed complementarily about said trigger.

35. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 34 wherein said trigger comprises:

top and bottom sides, said bottom side longer than said top side, and

front and rear sides, said front side concavically formed to better receive an index finger, said rear side complimentarily formed to coact with said trigger housing.

36. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 35 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially parallel to said palm rest.

37. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 36 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are substantially perpendicular to said second finger rest surface.

38. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 37 wherein said trigger and said first finger rest surface are obtusely angled from said barrel.

39. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 38 wherein said wobble-plate is pivotally coupled to said trigger.

40. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 39 wherein moving said wobble-plate includes arcuately rocking said wobble-plate about said pivot upon squeezing said trigger.

41. The medicament delivery dispenser of claim 40 wherein moving said rod includes incrementally advancing said rod upon successive trigger squeezing and releasing.