Failsafe intravenous transfusion system for typed blood

• US 5,971,972 A
• Filed: 06/26/1997
• Issued: 10/26/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jay D. Rosenbaum
• Original Assignee: Jay D. Rosenbaum
• Inventors: Rosenbaum, Jay D.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCDERMOTT, CORRINE MARIE
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCDERMOTT, CORRINE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US08/883,328
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: 604/403-414
• US Class Current: 604/411
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/10 Bag-type containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1406 Septums, pierceable membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6045 having complementary physical shapes for indexing or registration purposes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6072 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6081 Colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/162 Needle sets, i.e. connections by puncture between reservoir and tube ; Connections between reservoir and tube in jet-action syringes A61M5/30; connectors for tubes having sealed ends and a needle for piercing them A61M39/14

Abstract

An apparatus and method of its use to prevent accidental transfusion of mismatched blood types from a blood bag containing pre-typed blood to a patient. The system includes two major independent but mating components: 1) a cannula spike attached to a cannula adapted for intravenous infusion of a fluid from the bag into a patient and 2) a plurality of different individual receptacle ports of graduated size, of which at least one is selectively attached to the outside of pilot tube at the time of blood typing. The cannula spike is a connected series of decreasingly sized individual cannula spike units, each unit being configured to be matingly received by and uniquely coded to its matching female receptacle port. Each of the units is individually removable from the cannula spike and the last unit may be affixed permanently to the cannula. Each unit may also be color coded, bar coded, and affixed with linear indicia to assist the user in avoiding an accidental mismatch between blood types.

Claims

1. A mating port and cannulation system for use with storage bags including a fluid impermeable diaphragm, comprising:

a cannula spike comprising a plurality of separable units, said plurality of separable units being an array of units graduated in size from a largest size defined by a first unit to a smallest size defined by a last unit, each said unit having a body, having a spiked end portion and an opposite end portion, and defining a through bore for passing a fluid therebetween, said spiked end portion including a hollow spike in communication with said through bore, said spiked end portion being adapted to be removably and sealedly attached to a said opposite end portion of a prior graduated unit of said array, said opposite end portion of said last unit being adapted to attach to a cannula for infusion of fluids, wherein each said unit is matingly and separably connected to define a continuous channel formed of each said through bore and thereby being in serial communication with another from said first unit to said last unit of said array;

a port defining a receptacle for sealedly receiving said spiked end portion of only one of said units of said array, said port further defining a passage from said receptacle, and including a sealing means for attaching said port over said diaphragm and placing said passage in communication with the diaphragm, whereby a mating pair comprising the port and one unit is defined; and

raised indicia applied to said mating pair of said port and said unit, wherein each said port and said unit of said mating pair receives an identical said raised indicia, wherein further said raised indicia is different for each different mating pair, wherein further each said different raised indicia identifies each of at least four blood types chosen from the group consisting of A, B, AB, and O.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein each said different raised indicia further identifies a different one of two rh-factors.

3. The system according to claim 1, including a linear indicia applied to a mating pair of said port and said unit, wherein each said port and said unit of said mating pair receives an identical linear indicia, wherein further said linear indicia is chosen from the group consisting of lines extending in two diagonally opposing directions, each one of said lines consistently identifying a different one of two rh-factors, whereby different rh-factors are identified by said port and said unit when two diagonal lines are opposingly aligned.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein a mating pair of said port and said unit is matingly threaded to receive one another.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein a mating pair of said port and said unit is provided with resiliently flexible means for joining one another.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said cannula spike is integrally formed having score lines between each said unit for breaking and separating units from said cannula spike.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said cannula spike is labelled by a bar code and further including a patient labelling means having the same said bar code.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said patient labelling means is a bracelet.

9. A mating port and cannulation system for use with storage bags having a pilot tube including a fluid impermeable diaphragm, comprising:

a plurality of receptacle ports for receiving a cannula spike, each of said plurality of receptacle ports being a tube having a different internal diameter thereby defining a largest diameter and a smallest diameter, each said port being adapted to attach to the pilot tube;

a cannula spike comprising a plurality of mating units, each unit of said plurality of mating units being of graduated size from a largest size defined by a first unit to a smallest size defined by a last unit, each unit being matingly connected to an adjacent unit in a graduated array and further defining a continuous through-bore from said first unit to said last unit, each said unit having a body having a spiked end portion and an opposite end portion, said spiked end portion including a hollow spike defining said through bore in part, said spiked end portion of said first unit adapted to be removably attached with the one of said plurality of receptacle ports having said largest diameter, said spiked end portion of each subsequent unit being further adapted to be fittingly mated to said opposite end portion of an adjacent unit, said spiked end portion being further adapted to be removably attached to a different one of said each of said plurality of receptacle ports, and said opposite end portion of said last unit being adapted to attach to a cannula for intravenous infusion, whereby a mating pair is selectively defined between one said unit and one said port, and, one said unit and one opposite end portion;

wherein said mating pair of said port and said unit is colored in the same hue, wherein each said same hue is visually distinct for each different said mating pair, and wherein further a different visually distinct hue is chosen to represent each of at least four blood types chosen from the group consisting of A, B, AB, and O.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein each said visually distinct different hue further identifies a different one of two rh-factors associated with each of the at least four blood types chosen from the group consisting of A, B, AB, and O.

11. A mating port and cannulation system combination with storage bags having a pilot tube including a fluid impermeable diaphragm, comprising:

a plurality of receptacles having an internal diameter chosen from a group consisting of at least four different diameters, thereby defining a largest diameter receptacle and a smallest diameter receptacle, each said receptacle of a different diameter having identifying means for visually associating a different one of four blood types chosen from the group consisting of A, B, AB, and O, a selected one of said plurality of receptacles attached to said pilot tube;

air-tight attachment means connecting said selected one receptacle to the pilot tube; and

,

a cannula spike comprising a plurality of separable units, said plurality of separable units being an array of units graduated in size from a largest size defined by a first unit to a smallest size defined by a last unit, each said unit having a body, having a spiked end portion and an opposite end portion, and defining a through bore for passing a fluid therebetween, said spiked end portion including a hollow spike in communication with said through bore, said spiked end portion being adapted to be removably and sealedly attached to a said opposite end portion of a prior graduated unit of said array, said opposite end portion of said last unit being adapted to attach to a cannula for infusion of fluids;

wherein each said unit is matingly and separably connected to define a continuous channel formed of each said through bore being in serial communication with another from said first unit to said last unit of said array;

wherein further said first unit is adapted to sealedly mate with said largest diameter receptacle, said last unit is adapted to sealedly mate with said smallest diameter receptacle and each of said graduated units is adapted to sealedly mate with a different one of the remaining receptacles, each thereby defining a different mating pair; and

wherein said hollow spike is sized to puncture said diaphragm of said pilot tube only when a mating pair is joined.