Disinfecting caps having sealing features and related systems and methods
Inventors
Solomon, Donald D. • Bandis, Steven • Mercer, James • Howlett, Michael • HITCHCOCK, ROBERT • Kennedy, James • Lasher, Richard
Assignees
HEALTH LINE INTERNATIONAL CORP., DBA HEALTH LINE MEDICAL PRODUCTS
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Publication Number
US-8523831-B2
Publication Date
2013-09-03
Expiration Date
Abstract
Caps can be used to cover and disinfect medical connectors. Some caps can create a seal with the medical connectors to prevent antiseptic from entering a fluid paths defined by a connector. Support members can aid in creating or maintaining the seal.
Core Innovation
The patent describes a female-disinfecting cap for applying an antiseptic agent to an open female luer hub. The cap includes a chamber with an opening, an absorbent material holding the antiseptic agent, and a sealing component that engages the hub lumen. The sealing component prevents antiseptic from entering the lumen while permitting antiseptic to reach outward-facing surfaces of the hub, with the cap chamber engaging threads of the hub.
The cap embodiments feature diverse sealing arrangements, including a sealing component biased toward the opening, a collapsible component, and an integral sealing component with variable wall thickness. These caps protect disconnected connectors in fluid-delivery lines while the sealing component travels concordantly with the hub. The background problem is not explicitly described in the patent.
Claims Coverage
The claim coverage includes three inventive features across independent claims directed to a female-disinfecting cap with an antiseptic-holding absorbent material and a sealing component.
Biased sealing component
Claim 1 covers a cap where the sealing component travels within the chamber in a motion concordant with the female luer hub, and a biasing component disposed between the chamber back wall and the sealing member biases the sealing component toward the chamber opening.
Collapsible component
Claim 19 covers a cap comprising a collapsible component disposed between the chamber back wall and the sealing member, with the sealing component traveling within the chamber in concordant motion with the female luer hub.
Integral variable-thickness sealing component
Claim 21 covers a cap having a sealing member integral with the cap body at an end distal to the opening, featuring a variable wall thickness that decreases from its proximal end toward the interior of the chamber.
The three independent claims cover female-disinfecting caps that direct antiseptic to outward-facing surfaces of an open female luer hub while sealing the hub lumen against antiseptic ingress, utilizing a biased sealing component, a collapsible component, or an integral variable-thickness sealing component.
Stated Advantages
The sealing component prevents antiseptic from flowing into the female luer hub lumen while permitting antiseptic to reach outward-facing surfaces of the hub.
Documented Applications
Applying an antiseptic agent to an open female luer hub.
Protecting disconnected connectors in fluid-delivery lines.
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