Patent ID: 7726315

Claim:
A closed system suction catheter assembly comprising: a machine end fitting; a patient end fitting; a suction catheter secured at one end with said machine end fitting; and a flexible envelope attached at one end with said machine end fitting and at its other end with said patient end fitting, said flexible envelope extending between the machine end fitting and the patient end fitting around the suction catheter, wherein said machine end fitting includes a suction control valve operable to control suction applied by said suction catheter, and wherein said patient end fitting includes a valve, said valve comprising: a deformable member, said deformable member having a fluid passage extending therethrough, and a normally-closed opening within said passage arranged such that it can be opened by external pressure applied to said deformable member; and an external member displaceable on and separate from said deformable member with respect to said deformable member between a first position at which said external member can be released and in which said opening through said deformable member remains substantially closed and a second position in which said opening is opened and remains open when said external member is released even in the absence of any member extending within said passage, such that, when the external member is in the second position the suction catheter can be advanced and retracted through the passage in the deformable member.