Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AN INFUSIO~_SYSTEM
The invention relates to an infusion system which is
ready for immediate use.
In those cases where the need for medical treatment is
acute and where, at the same time, chaos may prevail,
for instance during and after a military battle, there
10 i9 a great need for simple and reliable infusion sys-
tems. In ba~tle environments, it i~ necessary that less
skilled and routined medics, nursin~ attendants and the
like are able to administer fir~t-aid, which often
involve~ the immediate administration of a fluid by
infusion. The infusion systems used must be complete and
also disinfected.
Hitharto, infusions have been administered in the
battlefield by connecting the necesæary system compo-
nents to in~usion bags which are mechanically suspendedor held raised above the injured person by a nursing
attendant. It will readily be seen that this infusion
method is highly likely to become contaminated when
conne~ting together the various system parts or compo~
nents, and that these connections may easily loosen and
cause the infusion bag to ~all to a level beneath the
injured person, etc., par~icularly in stressPul battle
environments, for instance.
The present invention, as defined in the characterizing
clauses of respective Claims, provides a safe and reli-
able infusion system which can be readily handled and
which can, therefore, be effectively used under extreme-
ly difficult and str~ssful situations.
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The invention will now be described in more detail with
reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof
illustrated in the accompanyiny drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a schematic view of the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates the invention when applied in
practice,
~igure 3 illustratas schematically a known part of the
inventive sys~em; and
Figure 4 illustrates another part of the inventive
system.
~he illustrated inventive system is comprised of an
infusion bag 1, a shear pin or break pin 3 which is
fitted in a hose connection and which also functions as
a flow indicator, an infusion hose 2 which includes a
clamp ~ and a check ~alve 5. Attached ~o the free end of
the infusion hose 2 is a Luer cap fitting 7, to which an
infusion needle 6 is fitted. In accordance with the
invention, the aforesaid components are normally at-
tached irremovably to one another, i.e. they cannot beseparated from one another other than by force. The hose
connection 11 of the shear pin 3 prefera~ly includes a
liquid filter 8 of conventional standards.
The clamp 4 is of conventional "snap-on" kind. An exam~
ple of the check valve 4 is shown in more detail in
Figure ~ and, in principle, has the form of a hose
length, made of silicone for instance, which is flat-
tened at one end 9. The hose material tapers flown to-
wards said end and there forms two very thin lips, whichnormally lie one against the other. When fluid flows
through the hose, from the right as seen in Figure ~,
the lips are forced apart 60 as to allow the fluid to
flow freely. Should the pressure prevailing on the le~t
of the check valve be higher than the pressure prevail-
ing on the right of the valve, the lips will
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automatically close the gap defined therebetween, there-
with preventing fluid flow from the left as seen in the
Figure. The check valve is mcunted in a tubular part 10
connected to the infusion hose 2.
Figure 3 illustrates schematically the shear pin 3
positioned in a tubular connection 11 made of transpar-
Pnt, flexible plastic material. The shear pin is config-
ure~ with fins which extend in the flow direction and
when the infusion system is to be used the shear pin 3
is broken from without with the aid o~ the flexible
tubular connection and the broken-off part o~ the pin
will function as a flow indicator, as a result of its
fin-like configuration. The left end 11, as seen in
Figure 3, of the tubular connection 11 shall be attached
to ~he infusion bag 1 and its right end shall be con-
nected to the infusion hose 2. This type of shear pin is
known per se.
Figure 2 illustrates how the infusion system according
to the invention can be used withou~ placing the bag 1
on a level above the injured person, such positioning of ~;~
the bag being unsafe, as before mentioned~ As illustrat-
ed in Figure 1, the infusion ba~ 1 is placed beneath the
injured person, so that the weight of said person gener-
ates the infusion-fluid supply pressure. Alternatively,
the injured person himself/herself can be instructed to
squeeze the bag with his/her hands, when the injury
~uffered by the person so permits.
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In accordanc~ with an alternative embodiment lying
within the scope of the inven~ion, the infusion needle
may be irremovably a~tached to the infusion hose and the
ne~dlq covered with a protective casing 12 when the
infusion system is not in use. This provides a complete
infusion system.
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It will be understood from the a~oregoing that the
inventive infusion system can be handled and used in the
primary stage of treating injured people, for instance
at the site of catastrophes, military battles and other
instances in which there is a need for medical care and
attention on a wide scale prior to the primary surgery
level, and will function without the need of suspending
the infusion in a fluid-drip position and irrespective
of this pos~tion in relation to the injured person. The
inventive infu~ion system can also be used by persons
who have been trained to administer infusions but which
have no particular training on the inventive sys~em. ~he
invehtive system also requires the minimum of packaging
space.
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