This invention concerns a disposable device for safely separating needles from barrels of syringes, vacutainers, and other blood collection devices after use and causing the separated needles to directly enter an impervious storage container.
In hospital and other medical facilities, there is considerable use of hypodermic syringes for administering medications and removing blood samples. Syringes are generally comprised of a cylindrical barrel having a nipple fitting at its lowermost extremiity, a plunger slideably seated within the barrel, and a needle having a pointed distal extremity and a base equipped with joining means for frictionally engaging said nipple. In order to minimize the spread of contagious disorders, the syringes are generally disposed of after a single use. To simplify disposal, the needle is generally re-capped and removed from the barrel. Removal of the needle is generally achieved by a twisting motion, which causes the base of the needle to separate from the barrel. The removed needles and syringes are then separately disposed of in a manner compatible with proper containment of microbial contamination. In some instances, especially where the syringe is of expensive glass construction, sterilization and re-use of the barrel and plunger components may be sought following removal and disposal of the needle.
Similarly, there is considerable interest in the safe removal and disposal of needles from vacutainers, and other blood collection devices. Vacutainers differ from syringes in that there is no plunger in the barrel. Instead, the barrel is empty, and after penetration of the needle into the patient, aspiration tubes inserted into the barrel cause fluids to be drawn from the patient. Needles used with vacutainer barrels have a threaded hub at the midpoint and are pointed at both extremities. The hub functions as a joining means which threadably engages the lowermost extremity of the barrel. Used needles are unscrewed from the barrel, which is then reused indefinitely with new sterile needles and aspiration tubes.
Devices have earlier been disclosed for removing needles from syringes. Such devices, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,576,281; 4,375,849 and 4,494,652 are generally comprised of means for dislodging the needle from the barrel of the syringe, and a container into which the dislodged needle falls by gravity. Needle-dislodging means have been disclosed to be associated with the upper lid of the container.
Although such devices are in principle very effective, improvements have been sought in the ease of dislodging the needle. In brand-to-brand variations in needles and syringes, instances are encountered where considerable torque is required to twist the needle to effect its removal from the barrel of a syringe or vacutainer. The known devices for removing needles utilize jaws or equivalent means to grip the joining means of the needle, namely the hub or base which attaches the needle to the barrel. The user generally employs the fingers of one hand to apply direct pushing or squeezing force upon the gripping means to secure the joining means of the needle, while the barrel is twisted by the other hand. In many instances, the fingers cannot hold the needle motionless against the twisting force applied to the barrel. When pushing force is applied by a finger, the device must generally be heavy or attached to a heavy object to resist toppling.
Improvements have also been sought in minimizing the total exposure of personnel to the removed needles. It is therefore desirable to dispose of the container with its content of needles without consideration of re-using the container. In order to accomplish this, the container or the entire device must be of reasonably low cost.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a device for removing and confining needles from syringes, vacutainers, and other blood collection instruments, said device having improved effectiveness in removing said needles, and obviating the recapping of said needles.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device as in the foregoing object amenable to sufficiently low cost manufacture to permit economically practical one-time use of the device.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.