Patent ID: 6375027
Filing Date: 2002-04-23
Classification: B01L,B65D

Abstract:
A holder for a plurality of blood sample tubes, said holder for protecting a hand of a medical technician from an inadvertent needle stick when the medical technician attempts to insert the needle into the top of a blood sample tube, said holder comprising:a body shaped and dimensioned for grasping by one hand of the medical technician, said body having a first end and a central axis; said body having a plurality of parallel cavities, each said cavity shaped and dimensioned for accepting one blood sample tube, all said cavities being of a same size; a guard connected to said first end, said guard having a plurality of holes which align with said plurality of cavities, so that the blood sample tube may be inserted into one of said holes in said guard, and pass through said guard into one of said plurality of cavities, wherein after insertion of the blood sample tube said guard is disposed between the top of the blood sample tube and said body; said guard extending radially outward in all directions from said central axis a distance greater than said body extends outward from said central axis, so that when said body is grasped by the hand of the medical technician said guard forms a barrier between the hand of the medical technician and the top of the blood sample tube, thereby protecting the hand of the medical technician from an inadvertent needle stick when the medical technician attempts to insert the needle into the top of the blood tube; said plurality of cavities in said body including at least one inner cavity and a plurality of outer cavities each said outer cavity defining an elongated open slit in said body parallel to said central axis, said at least one inner cavity not having an elongated open slit; wherein when blood sample tubes are inserted into said outer cavities, a portion of each blood sample tube protrudes slightly outside said slit; and, wherein said body may be grasped and geld by only one hand of the medical techician, the hand surrounding all the tubes and applying prassure simultaneously to the protruding portions of all the blood sample tubes in a radial direction toward said central axis of said body, thereby holding the blood sample tubes in place within said holder.