Catheter placement device

Abstract

A catheter placement device including a location portion for locating the device relative to a body part and a tubular up stand extending upwardly from the location portion and having a bore therethrough, the bore being oriented such that the bore extends angularly relative to the body part in use.

Claims

1. A unitary catheter placement device formed of a single piece, the device including: a non-threaded, laterally extending location portion for locating the device relative to a patient's head; a tubular upstand extending upwardly from the location portion and having a bore therethrough, the bore being oriented such that the bore extends angularly relative to the patient's head in use, one or more bracing member between the location portion and the tubular upstand, one or more solid gripping configurations; and, a tubular collar, both the one or more gripping configurations and the tubular collar extending from an opposite side of the location portion to the upstand, the tubular collar including a free end of tubular collar defining a lowermost extremity of the device; wherein an internal dimension of the bore is dimensioned to closely receive the catheter to assist with maintaining a proper angle of insertion and decrease error.

2. The catheter placement device of claim 1, wherein the placement device is molded as a unitary device.

3. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the device is at least partially translucent or transparent to assist the medical practitioner with a visual guide as to a location of a catheter within the device, during insertion.

4. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the location portion includes a foot portion which, in use, is located to abut the patient's head through which the catheter is to be inserted.

5. The catheter placement device of claim 4 wherein the foot portion has a substantially planar lower surface.

6. The catheter placement device of claim 4 wherein the one or more gripping configurations extend from an underside of a preferred foot portion.

7. The catheter placement device of claim 6 wherein the gripping configuration includes at least two teeth extending from a lower surface of the location portion.

8. The catheter placement device of claim 4 wherein the tubular collar extends from the foot portion.

9. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the tubular collar extends from a lower surface of the location portion to be located at least partially within a catheter entry opening formed in the patient's head.

10. The catheter placement device of claim 9 wherein the tubular collar is coaxial with the bore through the tubular upstand.

11. The catheter placement device of claim 9 wherein the tubular collar is annular in shape and is located centrally on the location portion.

12. The catheter placement device of claim 9 wherein an outer surface of the tubular collar tapers inwardly and downwardly.

13. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the upstand is fixed relative to the location portion in order to maintain an angle of the bore relative to the location portion.

14. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the upstand and the bore therethrough are substantially perpendicular to the location portion.

15. The catheter placement device of claim 1 wherein the upstand is approximately 25 mm in height.

16. The catheter placement device of claim 1, wherein the bore extends through the tubular collar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

(2) FIG. 1 is an interior view of the human brain with the location of the ventricles illustrated.

(3) FIG. 2 is a left lateral view of the human brain with the location of the ventricles illustrated therein,

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing the first step of introducing an intra-ventricular catheter forming an incision in the skin of a patient's head.

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a second step of forming a hole in the skull using a burr.

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a third step of manually introducing a catheter through the formed hole.

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the proper placement of an intra-ventricular catheter according to the conventional method.

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the variation in final position of a catheter depending upon the angle of insertion.

(9) FIG. 8 is an isometric view from the front of a catheter placement device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(10) FIG. 9 is an isometric view from below of the catheter placement device illustrated in FIG. 8.

(11) FIG. 10 is a plan view of the catheter placement device illustrated in FIG. 8.

(12) FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the catheter placement device illustrated in FIG. 8.

(13) FIG. 12 is a sectional view along line XII-XII of the catheter placement device illustrated in FIG. 11.

(14) FIG. 13 is a sectional view along line XIII-XIII of the catheter placement device illustrated in FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(15) According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, a catheter placement device is provided.

(16) As illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 13, the catheter placement device 50 of the preferred embodiment includes a location foot 17 for locating the device relative to a body part and a tubular upstand 20 extending upwardly from the location foot 17. The upstand 20 has a bore 21 therethrough oriented such that the bore 21 extends perpendicularly relative to the body part in use.

(17) The device of the preferred embodiment is adapted to guide insertion of a cerebral intra-ventricular catheter. An intra-ventricular catheter is inserted following the process described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6 and the device of the preferred embodiment is used in addition to that process being manually located and maintained as illustrated in FIG. 14 during the insertion process.

(18) The device illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 13 is moulded of an at least partially transparent medical grade plastic material. The device is a single use device after which it will be disposed of. The illustrated device is circular in cross-sectional shape as this shape will typically allow simplified manufacturing.

(19) The location foot 17 of the illustrated embodiment abuts the skull through which the catheter 13 is inserted and has a substantially planar lower surface 10.

(20) As to preferred dimensions, the device illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 13 is approximately 25 mm in diameter and approximately 25 mm in height. The underside of the location foot 17 includes six (6) teeth 18 extending from a lower surface of the location foot spaced about the circumference of the location foot 17. The teeth 18 are pointed or tapered in order to allow engagement with the body part surrounding the catheter entry point.

(21) A tubular collar 22 extends from a lower surface of the location foot 17 which is coaxial with the bore 21 through the upstand 20. The collar 22 on the illustrated embodiment is annular in shape. The tubular collar is located at least partially with in the catheter entry opening or burr hole formed in the skull in order to assist with location and seating of the device relative to the skull.

(22) The collar 22 is circular as the burr hole is typically circular. Further, the collar is typically sized to be received at least partially within the burr hole. The outer surface preferably abuts the periphery of the burr hole and the location foot 17 abuts the surrounds of the burr hole in order to locate an orient the device and particularly the upstand 20.

(23) It is particularly preferred that the tubular collar extend not more than 3 mm in height from the lower surface of the location foot 17.

(24) Normally, the tubular upstand 20 and the bore 21 therethrough is substantially perpendicular to the location foot 17 as illustrated. Generally, the upstand 20 is annular in cross-sectional shape. The bore 21 of the illustrated taper inwardly towards the centre of the bore 21 from an upper or outer end of the upstand to a lower or inner end but this is typically for manufacturing purposes rather than to provide enhanced functionality.

(25) The upstand 20 is typically approximately 25 mm in height as this has been found to be sufficient height to keep the catheter properly oriented and to make the device small enough to be relatively easily manually located. The internal dimension of the bore 21 is dimensioned to closely receive the catheter as this will assist with proper insertion.

(26) Bracing members 23 are used in order to maintain the angle of the up stand relative to the location portion. The bracing members 23 of the illustrated embodiment are buttress or web members extending between a substantially planar location foot 17 and a sidewall of the upstand 20.

(27) The process of placement of an intra-ventricular catheter is generally that illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6. As illustrated in FIG. 3, an incision 10 is made in the skin of the patient's head at the recognised landmarks for placement of an intraventricular catheter. This is known as Kochers Point. The skin of the head is then spread using retractors. A circular burr hole 12 is formed into the bone of the patient's skull to create an opening for the catheter as illustrated in FIG. 4.

(28) At this point, the conventional process is changed. The device of the present invention is located against the skull manually with the collar partially within the burr hole and held there firmly. A catheter is inserted manually through the bore of the device which ensures that the catheter is inserted perpendicularly. The medical practitioner need then only control the depth of insertion.

(29) Once the catheter is in the correct place, the device can then be withdrawn over the catheter and disposed of. A pressure transducer 15 is then attached at the outer end of the catheter to monitor the intracranial pressure as illustrated in FIG. 6.

(30) The manual location of the device is illustrated in FIG. 14.

(31) In the present specification and claims (if any), the word comprising and its derivatives including comprises and comprise include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

(32) Reference throughout this specification to one embodiment or an embodiment means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases in one embodiment or in an embodiment in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.