Patent ID: 7503910

Claim:
A vacuum system for providing a sub-ambient pressure to a medical target volume, comprising: a suction head having an inlet arrangement adapted for being in fluid communication with said target volume; a vacuum pump in fluid communication with said suction head, said vacuum pump being adapted for providing a working pressure in said system below external ambient pressure, said vacuum pump comprising a pump head releasably operatively connected to a pump drive unit, wherein said pump head comprises a pump inlet port, a pump outlet port and a suitable deformable diaphragm arrangement reciprocable by means of said pump drive unit to induce said working pressure in said vacuum system; a waste container defining a collection volume for enabling collection of drained materials from said target volume, wherein said pump head is one of fixed to or integral with said waste container such that said pump inlet port and said pump outlet port are accommodated in said collection volume, wherein said pump inlet port is in fluid communication with said suction head via a conduit connecting said pump inlet port with said suction head, at least a portion of said conduit being accommodated in said collection volume, wherein said pump outlet port discharges into said collection volume, and wherein said waste container is vented to external ambient air; and a venting valve arrangement mounted to one of said conduit and suction head adapted for enabling ingress of external ambient air into the system responsive to a reduction in said working pressure below a predetermined datum pressure with respect to said external ambient pressure, such as to induce suction flow of materials from said target volume when in use, and for discontinuing said ingress when said datum pressure is restored.