| abstract |
1,122,681. Catheters. ABBOTT LABORATORIES. 2 Nov., 1965 [24 Nov., 1964], No. 46431/65. Heading A5R. A catheter assembly comprises a catheter 22, having a hypodermic needle 24 at the distal end and an adapter 26 at the proximal end, and a sheath 16 containing the catheter and having a pierceable diaphragm 30 at the distal end, the adapter 26 being frictionally slidable in the sheath to displace the catheter from a storage position inside the sheath and an operating position in which the needle extends through the diaphragm. The adaptor 26 is hollow and is closed proximally by a cap 44 of latex or filled rubber. The cap is covered by a plastics hood 28. In use, the distal end of the assembly is inserted in the body. Finger pressure is then applied to a finger grip 18 on the sheath and the hood 28 to move the adapter relative to the sheath so that the needle pierces the sheath diaphragm 30 and enters the tissues. With the needle enclosed in the sheath, an internal rib 32 on the sheath engages the distal end of the adapter between shoulders 33, 34 and when the needle is projected through the diaphragm, the rib 32 is locked between a shoulder 36 and stop 38 at the proximal end of the adapter. After removal of the hood 28, medicament is passed into the catheter by a hypodermic syringe, the needle of which pierces the cap 44, and thence through the catheter needle 24. The assembly may be left in position in the body so that fluid may be introduced through the cap 44 at intervals. The catheter assembly is sufficiently flexible for its proximal end to be suitably bent and taped to the body exterior. The assembly is supplied in a sterile package. The adapter is made of a methacrylate or styrene, the sheath of polyurethane or vinyl plastic and the catheter tube of a butyrate plastic or nylon. |