Patent ID: 11911585
Assignee: MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 11:
12. A vascular access system, comprising:
a first conduit having a first outside diameter;
a second conduit having a second outside diameter, wherein the second outside diameter is different from the first outside diameter; and
a connector comprising an inside luminal wall, a first end, a second end, a first connecting member on the first end, and a second connecting member on the second end,
wherein the first connecting member and the second connecting member are each configured to couple with multiple artificial conduits of varying outside diameter, such that coupling of one of the first connecting member and the second connecting member with an artificial conduit forms a fluid-tight lumen between the artificial conduit and the connector,
wherein the connector being configured to couple to an end of the first conduit and to an end of the second conduit such that there is a continuous lumen from the first conduit to the second conduit,
wherein the first connecting member comprises a first set of securing devices and the second connecting member comprises a second set of securing devices,
wherein at least one of the first set of securing devices and the second set of securing devices is configured to compress at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit against at least one of the first end and the second end of the connector,
wherein the first set of securing devices and the second set of securing devices each comprise engaging teeth,
wherein when the at least one of the first set of securing devices and the second set of securing devices compresses the at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit against the at least one of the first end and the second end, some of the engaging teeth engage with one another and some of the engaging teeth remain unengaged wherein the connector comprises a flange disposed between the first end and the second end,
wherein the first end and the second end of the connector each comprise a circumferential ridge disposed adjacent the flange wherein each of the circumferential ridges comprise a shoulder oriented toward the flange,
wherein the first set of securing devices and the second set of securing devices each comprise a radially inwardly extending protrusion between the engaging teeth and the flange, comprising a shoulder oriented away from the flange,
wherein at least a portion of the first conduit is disposed between the shoulder of the circumferential ridge of the first end of the connector and the shoulder of the first set of securing devices when the first set of securing devices compresses the first conduit against the first end of the connector, and
wherein at least a portion of the second conduit is disposed between the shoulder of the circumferential ridge of the second end of the connector and the shoulder of the second set of securing devices when the second set of securing devices compresses the second conduit against the second end of the connector.