Patent ID: 9616156
Date: 2017-04-11
CPC Classifications: A61M

Claim:
1. A device for expression and collection of breast milk, said device comprising: an actuatable assembly; a breast interface configured to engage a breast and fluidly seal thereagainst, the breast interface comprising a housing and a single, continuous membrane disposed within and coupled to the housing to form a continuous reservoir therebetween, the reservoir comprising a sole negative pressure source for the breast interface, the reservoir extending between the housing and the membrane and filled with an incompressible liquid so as to be fluidly separated from the breast milk expressed from the breast, wherein the membrane is shaped to form a first opening configured to receive at least a nipple of the breast therethrough; and a tube operatively coupling the actuatable assembly to the breast interface, wherein the actuatable assembly, when actuated, is configured to affect movement of at least a portion of the liquid out of the reservoir, and wherein the membrane is configured to move away from the nipple in response to movement of the liquid out of the reservoir, thereby generating sufficient negative pressure with the sole negative pressure source at the breast interface to cause expression of the breast milk from the breast.