Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

This new catheter minimizes the exposure of attendant personnel to contaminated materials. The catheter enables the withdrawal of the catheter from the patient and subsequent disposal thereof in a safe, easy to perform, and sanitary manner. The catheter includes a hollow tube made of a material that is inflatable and nonporous. A main passage is located within the tube and extends throughout the tube, from an open end of the tube and through an aperture located near a closed end of the tube. An inlet channel is attached to the tube and is in fluid communication with a chamber adjacent to the aperture. Prior to removing the catheter from the body of the patient, a fluid is injected through the channel and into the chamber, thereby inflating the inner surface wall of the tube, and essentially blocking the main passage. The closed chamber is secured to prevent the release of the injected fluid.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim