Patent ID: 6296623
Filing Date: 2001-10-02
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
A disposable needle handle and anesthetic carrier assembly for delivering liquid anesthetic under pressure into living tissues, the anesthetic being contained in disposable vials having an anesthetic reservoir between a piston at one end and a piercable self-sealing membrane at the other end through which the reservoir is tapped, the anesthetic being delivered by a pumping station having a movable plunger to engage the piston, the invention comprising:an integrally cast plastic, holster at one end to receive the vial with its piston adjacent the open end;wall means to confine the vial laterally in the holster;a tubular hollow membrane piercing probe at the opposite end of the holster from the open end and formed integrally with the holster to engage and pierce the membrane of the vial, in tight frictional engagement therewith, and to be surrounded by the membrane in pressure sealing relationship; said hollow piercing-probe being circular in cross section with a circular hollow center and sharpened in at least three planes, each having a relatively steep angle to the axis of the probe, the first plane extending from one edge of the circle to a diametrically opposed point on the opposite edge, thereby to define an elliptically rounded tip on the probe, the other two planes intersecting each other and the peak of the rounded tip to define a point, said probe extending into the vial to cause the membrane to seal against the circular wall of the probe beyond the sharpened point; anda flexible microbore tube having one end coupled in pressure sealing relationship to the hollow tubular probe and the other end coupled in pressure sealing relationship to the needle at its handle;said holster being substantially cylindrical to closely confine the vial, the geometry of the holster including aperture means to expose the vial to afford a frictional finger grip on the vial, whereby the vial can be pulled free of the circular wall of the integrally cast plastic piercing probe when the holster is detached from the pumping station.